Wishing on a Star
by MarauderTielle
Summary: Follows the story of Tielle Zabini and Maya Wood. Secrets, lies, jealousy and confusing relationships are soon going to fog their good memories of Hogwarts. Will they get their fairytale endings? - WRITTEN BY BOTH TIELLE SOMMERS AND MAYA SUNSHINE!
1. Chapter 1

_**RIGHT. Another fic, yeah, I know I haven't updated any of my others in years. Sowwwy. This is another alternate chapter story, written by both me and Maya Sunshine. You should totally check out her profile, she's AWERSUUMM.**_

_**It is actually about us being witches in Hogwarts, written in the 3**__**rd**__** Gen. Characters totally based around ourselves, though with slight differences.**_

_**So I'll write a chapter, then she'll write a chapter and so on.**_

_**Enjoy, and please review.**_

_**Tielle, x**_

* * *

**Chapter 1**

Grabbing the handles of her trolley firmly, Tielle ran forwards through the platform divider in Kings Cross station, coming through on Platform Nine and Three Quarters, and meeting Blaise Zabini on the other side. Blaise was her father. Not biologically. She was left on his doorstep with a tatty note reading: 'Tielle Liza. Born on 24th December. Half-blood." Blaise had taken her in and looked after her since that day, with occasional help from nannies when he had to go out, or when he was working. But it was normally just Blaise and Ti, and she liked it that way.

She knew she was adopted from a young age. Having a totally different skin-tone, and looking completely different kind of gave it away a bit. Ti was quite pale, with freckles, brown hair and an oval shaped face, whereas her father was dark-skinned and had charcoal black hair, a very thin face and pointy features. She had come to terms with it quickly: He wanted her, and her parents didn't. Simple as.

She instantly spotted her best friend, Maya Wood, standing with her family a few steps away and discarded her trolley to run over and pull her into a death gripping hug. It had only been three days since they'd seen each other, but it felt like forever to Ti. Maya's father was Oliver Wood; captain of Puddlemere United. She was biased to support them because of that fact.

Besides their family backgrounds and houses – Tielle being a Slytherin and Maya being a Ravenclaw – They had been best friends since they met on their very first Hogwarts Express journey. They were both nervous and neither had anybody to sit with, so they sat together. Maya would have sat with her older brother, Alex, but he wanted 'alone time' with his girlfriend.

Ti noticed the icy stare as Blaise greeted Mr and Mrs Wood, and looked towards Maya, both of them rolling their eyes in sync and then giggling. Ti smiled at Alex. She used to have such a big crush on him when they first met, but she'd got over it quickly enough. "How's your head?" She asked him, slightly guiltily.

When Ti had spent a week with them in the holidays, she'd accidently hit his head with the end of her broom when they were having a game of Quidditch in the Woods' massive back garden.

He laughed slightly. "Better now. Remind me never to play quidditch with you ever again."

She rolled her eyes. "You love it." She laughed and took her trolley from her father, giving him a quick hug and kiss. "See you at Christmas?" She asked.

"Of course, sweetheart. I've invited Draco, Astoria and Scorpius this year. They fancied a change of scenery."

Ti's eyes widened. She was on speaking terms with Scor, but she knew he would hate this idea as much as she did. She made a mental note to write her name on the 'staying for Christmas' list when it came around.

She just smiled and hugged him again, pushing her trolley along the platform in search of an empty compartment, Maya right next to her. They found one near the very end of the train and loaded their trunks into it. Ti's new kitten, Scribble, was sleeping soundly in his squat plastic crate. The plastic crate was bigger than most - She frowned upon keeping animals in small spaces, but she had no other choice because she didn't want him to get hurt or lost.

She'd purchased him the day after she got back from Maya's house two days previously. The kitten was grey and white, and had a cute pink nose. Ti adored him, and with her father's pureblood history, their family were definitely well off enough to care for him.

Ten minutes later, the train had left the station and Ti let Scribble out to wander the compartment freely. He just curled up next to her and went back to sleep. Giggling, she stroked his back for a while and looked towards Maya. "And the insanely boring journey begins here..."

Maya nodded. The two were so bored of the whole-day journey to Hogwarts. They were about to start their sixth year at Hogwarts. That's twelve journeys without counting going home for Christmas, Easter and other holidays.

"Did you hear what my dad said on the platform?" Tielle asked, fighting the urge to roll her eyes again. "I'm staying at Hogwarts this year, for sure."

"You could always come and have Christmas with us, mum and dad won't mind." Maya suggested helpfully.

"As long as I think of a good enough excuse as to why I'd rather spend Christmas with you than him - that sounds great!"

Just then, a curious buzzing noise came from the direction of Ti's bag. Exchanging a curious look with Maya, she unzipped it cautiously, preparing to whip her wand out at any given moment, and found the source of the buzzing: It was just her phone vibrating. She was still not used to it, after being bought up in a completely wizarding environment.

She saw Albus Potter's name on the caller ID and quickly hid the screen from Maya, subtly as she could manage. She raised it to her ear and tapped the answer button with her thumb.

"Hello?"

"Hey are you alone?" He asked.

"Nu-uh."

"Shoot. I want to see you, I've missed you."

"Me too." She frowned.

"I'm in carriage twenty two. Just FYI."

"See you in five." She smirked slightly and hung up, putting the phone back in her bag and zipping it up.

She looked innocently towards Maya. "Well, I have to go and find somebody. I'll see you later..." She grinned slightly and stood up.

Tielle and Albus never used to speak, but they were put in pairs for a muggle studies assignment and, after all the awkward silences, had got to know each other. He was one of the few people who knew the real her and actually liked her for it. He knew how much she hated being in Slytherin, he knew how much she loved Quidditch. He even knew how sensitive she could be.

Maya stopped her. "Who was that?" She asked suspiciously, picking up Scribble and seating him on her lap.

"Nobody." She replied casually. "I just have to go see them, and I'll be back in a few."

As soon as Albus had asked her out, she accepted. She'd even snuck out to see him a fair few times in the holidays, unnoticed by both Al's parents and her father. They'd sworn not to even tell their closest friends about it. I mean, a Gryffindor and a Slytherin? A Potter and a Zabini? The amount of torture they'd go through just for being together.

"Won't be long." She smiled and left the compartment, closing the door behind her and walking down the carriage, leaving Maya staring suspiciously at her from inside.

She reached compartment twenty two and saw Albus sitting casually by himself through the window. Smiling, she opened the compartment door and pulled down the blind after she'd closed it.

He stood up and kissed her lightly on the lips, then pulled her into a tight hug. "I missed you." He whispered in her ear.

She smiled. "I missed you too." She half pulled away from the hug and stood on her tiptoes to kiss him back. She hated that he was about a head taller than her, but in his words he thought it was 'cute'. She just thought he was a giant.

Just then, Al's brother James opened the carriage door, making all three of them freeze. Tielle moved her lips away from Al's and bit her lip. That was a trait of hers – biting her lip when she was nervous.

"I..." He stopped and pointed from Albus to Tielle and back again, obviously in shock. He'd just caught his brother kissing a Zabini. Yeah, a Zabini. He came in and closed the door, locking it behind him.

Albus let go of Tielle and they both took a step away from each other. The silence was pressing on her ears. _Not a single thing I say can possibly make this worse_, she thought, though still biting her lip. She couldn't think of anything to say, so she just stood there awkwardly, waiting for James or Albus to speak.

James sighed deeply. "Do you have _any_ idea what this could do to my rep?" He asked. "What's the deal with you two? You'd better just be doing this for fun because if you're dating..."

"Which we are..." Albus added in, making Ti close her eyes tightly for a couple of seconds before opening them again. This wasn't going so well.

James rubbed his face in his hands and looked back up, lost for words.

"Pott... James?" Ti asked as kindly as she could manage. He looked towards her in a way of showing she had his attention. She thought for a few seconds about what to say, and chose her words carefully. "We'd really appreciate it if you'd, well, not mention this to anyone?"

"Oh, sure!" He said sarcastically. "Normally I would, but what's in it for me?" He casually took a seat, putting up his feet and putting his arms behind his head.

Ti took a deep breath, then smiled deviously. "How about I get you a date with Maya?" She asked him with a smirk.

She knew James had been crushing on her for ages, but every time he asked her out, or hinted that he liked her, she rejected him.

He shot up like a rocket. "Really?" He asked, his eyes lighting up.

"Only if you keep your mouth shut." She shrugged.

"Deal." He grinned and held out his hand.

She shook it and smirked again. "Deal."

* * *

When Tielle had said a hasty, rather awkward goodbye to Albus, she walked back to the carriage herself and Maya were occupying and went in to find it completely empty, except from the girls' trunks and Scribble, who was still sleeping. There was a note magically stuck to the window which Tielle pulled off before reading.

_Ti,_

_I've gone to the prefects' compartment._

_Be back soon._

_Maya._

Tielle winced slightly at the tone of the writing, just knowing Maya knew something was going on and wasn't happy that she hadn't been let in on it.

Sighing, she sat next to Scribble and got comfy, waiting for Maya to get back.

* * *

The train finally boarded in Hogsmeade station, and Maya was acting normally. _Maybe she doesn't suspect anything after all... _Tielle thought, more hopefully than certainly.

She put Scribble back in his plastic box and pulled her trunk from the train, making it thud noisily on the floor. She saw Albus a fair few feet away, and he caught her eye, smiling, then gesturing for her to go over to him. Maya was just getting her things from the carriage, and she shook her head with an apologetic expression. It was just too risky. She watched as he stopped a second year and gave him something, then pointed at her. She wasn't the best lip-reader, so she had no idea what he was saying. When he was done, he looked back at her, winked and walked towards the carriage.

She was so busy wondering what was going on that she didn't realise the second year standing right next to her just a few seconds later.

"Erm, excuse me?" He asked, holding out a folded piece of parchment. "This is for you..."

Ti took it and smiled. "Thanks."

"What was that all about?" Maya asked, suddenly appearing on her other side, and watching the second year walk away.

She shrugged. "Not a clue."

Maya gestured to the note. "Let's see then."

"Actually, I think I'll look at it later..." She folded it up smaller and placed it safely in her pocket.

"Oh-kaay..."

She smiled and they started walking, towards the carriages. She deposited her trunk and Scribble's box with everybody else's things and found a carriage with Maya. The carriage was full of Ravenclaws, a few of which were friends of Maya's. Ti sat there quietly as her friend chatted away.

Subtly, she slipped the note from her pocket and opened it quietly. It read:

_Querida,_

_Sorry about my lame-ass brother earlier. You and I both know he's a total __dolt__._

_I really have missed you._

_Meet me by the lake at nine?_

_I'll be waiting._

_Al. xxx_

Maya noticed Tielle slipping the note back into her pocket and stopped her conversation. "Hey! You opened it without me!" She said, pouting slightly. "What did it say?"

"Nothing." Ti replied with a reassuring smile. "Absolutely nothing." Then thinking, _or maybe the complete opposite of that..._


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, I know this was a totally speedy update. What can I say, I'm enjoying this fic :DD  
Also, it's easier to write a character that's basically yourself, haha ;)  
Please do review, always appreciated!**

**M. Sunshine**

* * *

"But what did it say?" Maya whinged as they walked into the Great Hall, getting ready to part. Ti sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Honestly, Maya, it doesn't matter. Don't you worry your little head about it." Maya pursed her lips at her friend's patronising tone.

"Fine." She said, turned and stomped off to the Ravenclaw table. When she sat down, she saw Ti shake her head to herself before seating herself at the Slytherin table. Having a best friend in a different House could be totally annoying. They couldn't join each other in the Common rooms, and only shared a few classes. Therefore, they were practically inseparable during weekends and breaks.

Maya sat with the three other girls from her dorm: Andrea Eddings, Emma West and Sarah Cope. She counted them as some of her best friends, and the three girls had learned to accept that Maya spent most of her free time with the Slytherin.

"Hey guys." She said. They all smiled and greeted her again, after having being parted when they got out of the carriage.

"What was that about?" Emma asked, nodding towards the sea of green and silver ties.

"What? Oh, no, it doesn't matter. Just Ti being Ti." She said with an eye-roll. The others merely nodded. It saddened Maya a bit that they wouldn't completely warm to Tielle. They'd been best friends for years, and she knew for a fact that Ti didn't want to be in Slytherin. To be honest, Maya couldn't actually see why she'd been sorted into that particular house. Well, she was cunning a bit conniving, but apart from that… She was really more Gryffindor. At least that's what she thought.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Sarah said as they helped themselves to the food.

"Doesn't matter." Maya rushed to assure them. "So. How did you all do on your OWLs?" They all found the question ironic. Being in Ravenclaw, they'd basically had NO life during their fifth year, as they'd spent an enormous amount of time studying. Emma grinned.

"All O's." she winked.

"Same." Maya giggled.

"O's, but an E in Astronomy." Andrea grumbled. "Stupid subject."

"Yeah, I got an E in Muggle Studies." Sarah put in. "S'fine though. I studied over the summer, so I think I can get the grade up." Maya high-fived her.

"Sure you can." She encouraged. They chatted about other random stuff as they ate, and Maya completely forgot about the stupid note that the little second year had delivered for Ti.  
After dinner, Maya waited in the Entrance for Ti.

"Are you coming?" Andrea asked as they started walking up the stairs to Ravenclaw tower.

"No, I'm waiting for Ti." She replied. Her friends muttered something before ascending the stairs. She snorted to herself. They could mutter and sulk as much as they liked. She wouldn't miss an opportunity to hang around with her best friend.  
As always, Headmistress Parker had told them all to go to bed. Of course, Ti and Maya couldn't care less. Well, maybe Maya cared just a little, but she cared more about spending all the time she could with Tielle. As that thought passed through her mind, Ti poked her head around the door and spotted her friend. Immediately her face brightened and she rushed over, once again crushing the girl in a tight hug.

"Sorry! The note doesn't matter, it was nothing, honest." Maya rolled her eyes and pushed Ti off.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Come on. Usual place?" Ti nodded enthusiastically. They turned their backs on the Great Hall and headed for the corridor opposite the huge doors. Further along they walked, until they were eventually at classroom eleven.

"I've missed this place." Ti sighed. Maya smiled and flicked out her Alder wand.

"_Alohomora_." She lock clicked, and she pushed the door open. They were met by a room much larger than the average classroom. The difference was that the floor was covered in a thick and soft moss, with big trees looming in groups around the room. Instead of the normal ceiling one would have expected, the deep blue, star splattered night sky spread out above them. Maya sighed contently as they stepped through, and then closed the door, locking it after them. She followed Ti towards a big tree, and they sat down by it, resting their backs against the wide trunk.  
Since they weren't in the same House, the abandoned classroom that Firenze had used for his Divination classes had become their refuge. It beat Maya why they hadn't turned it back to normal, but she wad hardly sorry. Of course, when they'd first started coming their in their second year, she'd had to fix a few things. A few simple spells here and there and the place was once again looking like the most enchanting meadow.

"How were Claire, Amelia and Rebecca then?" Maya asked.

"Fine, fine. I saw Claire briefly over the summer, as I told you three days ago." Their eyes met. And they rolled their eyes at the same, once again breaking into giggles.

"It's awesome being back." Maya mused. "I mean, sure, I love the holidays… But it feels so _right_ being here."

"Yeah… Quidditch, boys, great food, boys…" Maya nudged her friend's shoulder.

"I was referring more to classes, being in the castle and Hogsmeade trips. But sure." Ti snickered. Two seconds later she stopped, staring into space with a strange expression.

"Sugar-plum fairies!" she exclaimed, punching the moss.

"Erm… Okay, I suppose. What's up?" Maya asked. She'd heard her friend use the phrase uncountable times, but it still sort of confused her.

"Well… No, never mind."

"Oh come on! Now you have to tell me!"

"No I don't." Ti argued, crossing her arms defiantly. She received a glare from her mate.

"Come on, just tell me already."

"Not happening." Maya huffed.

"Var sån då." This time, Ti glared back at her.

"No fair!" Maya smirked.

"You could always tell me."

"Oh for Merlin's sake, Maya, drop it." Both their eyes were hard as they studied each other for a moment before both rolling their eyes at the exact same time. Maya sighed.

"Come on. We'd best get to our Common rooms."

"Why?" Ti whinged. "We've only been here for, like, fifteen minutes!"

"Yeah, and we shouldn't have come here at all. Come on, I'm a prefect. Move your arse or I'll dock points." Ti pursed her lips, but got up.

"You're a real niffler, you know that?"

"Yeah, yeah."

* * *

Upon etering her dorm, Maya spotted Basil hanging from the railing on which the curtains around her bed were hanging. Her face brightened as she saw him.

"Basil! Hey, mate!" She greeted. The flying fox let go of the railing when she took hold of him, and sniffed her hand affectionately. She beamed.

"I think I might just get you to take a note to Ti." She said with a snicker. "Imagine her reaction." Her best friend had thought she was mental when she'd bought the pet two years previously. Not that it bothered Maya: she'd always wanted one, and one day in Diagon Alley there he was: a little bundle of chestnut fur and black wings, his big, brown baby eyes staring up at her. It was love at first sight. She cuddled the animal for a moment and then lifted him back to where he'd been hanging. Just then, the others entered, having followed her when she'd walked into the Ravenclaw Common room. Sarah shrieked slightly, as Basil was stretching his wings.

"Oh for _Merlin's_ sake." Maya said with an eye-roll. "He's just stretching, calm it." Sarah snorted and walked over to her bed, opposite Maya's.

"He's nice enough, but I still don't get why you didn't just buy a cat." When she'd got Basil, her intention had been to get herself a kitten. Both her parents had thought she could handle it, and so she'd gone to find one together with Ti. Of course, it hadn't gone exactly as planned…

"Because I love him." She said, and stroked his soft head as to make it abundantly clear. No one answered, and she didn't really need them to. They all got changed and slipped into bed. Her eyes were stinging, and she had to get up early the following morning to speak to the Head boy and Girl about what she needed to do for the coming year. She loved her prefect duties: but during her fifth year it had been quite the strain, what with having to study for OWLs at the same time.

She placed her hands behind her head and stared into the darkness, the contours of Basil's slim body in the corner of her eye. It felt so great to be back. Self-proclaimed nerd as she was, she'd been missing classes over the summer, and couldn't wait to get back into the routine of school. Not to mention she'd been longing to get back to playing Quidditch in her school team. Of course, it wasn't just school work and Quidditch that had her waiting for the start of term. A certain handsome boy, with messy black hair and shining brown eyes had her gut in a death grip, and simply wouldn't let go. Shaking her head, she tried to force him out of her mind. If he stayed, she knew she'd never go to sleep. Naturally, his foolishly grinning face wouldn't go anywhere. Thrusting a pillow over her head she stifled a groan. How brilliant.

* * *

She searched the mass of students in black for one specific brunette. Eventually she spotted her, coming from a small corridor, heading for the Great Hall.

"Ti! Hey, Ti!" Said girl turned, and beamed as Maya pushed her way towards her.

"Hey!" she said, hugging her. "You look wide awake." Grimacing, Maya replied:

"Yeah, had to get up cruelly early to get my responsibilities for this year."

"Ah, prefect stuff." Ti nodded in understanding. "I hope we get a few good classes together this year."

"Yeah, me too." The previous year, they'd shared only Herbology and Ancient Runes. Stopping at the entrance to the large room, Maya sighed.

"Well, I'll see you later." Now and then, they'd sneak over to each other's tables and sit there, but not on the first morning, as they needed to be in the right place to get their time tables. Maya headed for the familiar faces of her three other mates.

"There you are." Emma said, moving over (almost pushing a poor first year off the bench) to giver her room.

"Here I am." They ate breakfast with some small talk up until they spotted Professor Hayes, the Head of Ravenclaw, coming closer.

"He really does look rather good." Andrea commented, eyeing him. Maya almost choked on her tea.

"Bloody hell, you're just like Ti." She sighed, cooling her mouth with some juice.

"Right then, sixth years…" Hayes had just arrived by their spot. "Miss Eddings…" Andrea looked up, a sweet smile on her pixie like face. Maya hid her eye-roll. "You're good to go on with all your requested subjects. I was very happy with your OWL results."

"Thank you, professor." she replied, flashing a smile as he handed her her complete schedule.

"Same goes for you, Miss West." Emma tried a smile, but only managed a grimace. "Congratulations on your straight O's."

"Thanks." She muttered, accepting the time table.

"Miss Wood, also, very good indeed."

"Thank you, sir." She said, smiling faintly as he handed her the schedule, then giving Sarah hers before continuing down the line of students. Looking down, her heart flipped. She shared Charms, Transfiguration, Astronomy AND Ancient Runes with Tielle! Four classes! Couldn't really get much better. Well, she could live without the other Slytherins, but the presence of Ti would certainly make things _a lot_ more bearable. Her friends obviously noticed her ridiculous grin.

"What's up with you?" Emma asked.

"We share three classes with Slytherin! And I have Ancient Runes with Ti, too!" They were less enthusiastic about this, looking at their own time tables.

"How bloody brilliant." Emma groaned. Maya pursed her lips.

"Don't be such a broomhead. They're not all bad."

"No, and my name is Albus Dumbledore." Maya punched her. "Hey!"

"Stuff your face, or I'll give you something to complain about?"

"Oh yeah?"

"Don't test me."

"And what would you do?" Emma asked, her voice challenging.

"Give you detention?" Her friend gave a mock gasp.

"You wouldn't dare!"

"I might." They glared for a moment before giggling. "Whatever. I need to make sure no first years kill themselves while going to Herbology. See you later." They grinned at each other before she trotted out into the Entrance Hall, yelling:

"You two! Put the frog _down_ and step away from the window!"


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey lovlies!**

**Another quick chapter. It is so much easier writing than my other ones. Just FYI, Ti is an exaggerated me. I'm not that bitchy, honest xD Ask Maya! Actually, don't... Hehe.**

**Enjoy!**

**Ooh, and please review. Me and Maya will be uber happy if you do.**

**We may even give you a cyber cookie. They're tasty.**

**Tielle, xx**

* * *

**Chapter 3**

The next day came quite quickly, and Ti found Maya at the Ravenclaw table. They had Charms first, and had already planned to walk together.

Lining up outside the classroom patiently, Tielle was still thinking about Albus, like she had been all night. She stifled a yawn.

"Tired?" Maya asked sarcastically.

She nodded. "Didn't get much sleep last night. I was thinking about Al..." She cut off quickly, thinking of the first thing that came into her head. "Aluminium foil... I was thinking about... Aluminium foil?"

"Right..." Maya said, dragging the word out to show her confusion.

There were footsteps from down the hall, and Ti looked around, her mouth hanging open slightly as she saw Professor Hayes sauntering casually towards them.

"In you go." He said with a slight smile, unlocking the door with a flick of his wand and waiting for the students to file in before himself. Tielle and Maya, who were at the back of the line as usual, were stopped by Hayes's hand before they could step into the classroom. "I wanted to have a word with you both." He said, closing the classroom door quickly and looking at the two girls. "Maya, I wanted to personally congratulate you for getting full marks in your O.W.L.S exam. You and Ming Lei were the only people in the whole year to get one hundred percent." He grinned and dismissed her back into the classroom.

He turned to Tielle and frowned slightly. She closed her mouth, realising it was still open and carried on staring at him as he opened his mouth to speak. "I was a little disappointed with your charms grade." He told her truthfully, "But I'm willing to spend some extra time with you. One on one tutoring, we'll call it." He smiled slightly.

"O-one on one t-tutoring?" She stuttered, mentally kicking herself for sounding like an idiot.

"Yes. You only just scraped an 'Acceptable' by one mark, I'm afraid. But I'm willing to give you all the extra help you need to get that grade up." He finished with a flattering smile, making Ti purse her lips together tightly.

"Mmhm..." She mumbled, not trusting herself to speak. She could see his abs through his shirt. _Why_ was he doing this to her?

"In you go." He smiled and opened the door for her. She giggled slightly and took a seat next to Maya, automatically whispering the whole thing to her, then giggling again.

**

* * *

**After lunch, Tielle walked down the transfiguration corridor, pulling her timetable from her bag and sighing deeply when she realised that transfiguration in fact wasn't her next lesson, and that she had Ancient Runes on the other side of the castle.

She turned around and started walking quickly. She didn't want to be late for her first lesson of the year. Professor Pennington already hated her for absolutely no reason. She was pretty much screwed.

Turning down the corridor to her right, she bumped straight into somebody, making her loose balance and almost fall over. She re-aligned her bag on her shoulder. "Nice going captai..." She trailed off when she saw that it was James Potter, smirking at her and looking smug. "Oh, it's you."

"I do believe we had a deal, Ms. Zabini." He said, with a feigned smile.

Tielle rolled her eyes and stepped to walk around him. He was obviously expecting this and took a step too, blocking her from going anywhere. "If you want me to tell the whole school you've been playing tonsil hockey with my brother, then by all means, walk away."

She faked a laugh and moved to step around him, but was blocked again. "Trying to walk here..." She said, gesturing the corridor ahead of her with her arms.

"No deal, no walk." He shrugged. "Simple."

"Why are you doing this?" She asked angrily, giving him such a dirty glare, he moved back a couple of inches. He bounced back pretty quickly, though.

"Because it's what I do, honey." When she continued glaring at him without saying a word, he sighed deeply and added, "Look, I'm happy Al's happy. I'm glad he's found someone, even if it is a Zabini, okay?"

"Then why are you being such a sadistic moron about it?"

James pushed her against the wall, making her back slam into it rather hard. "I don't think we'll be having any problems, _do you_?" He asked, pointedly.

Not able to move, Ti struggled to get away, but he was just too strong. "Get off of me." She said through gritted teeth, acting fiercer than she felt.

"Just answer my question."

"Fine. The answer is _yes_. We _will_ have problems." She grinned and rammed her knee hard between his legs, making him back off and double over, taking in a sharp breath.

"That's the spirit." She grinned and started walking away, calling, "Later, Potter" over her shoulder.

Ti tucked some hair behind her ear and huffed after she'd left the scene. She was really late now. Her day was just getting better and better.

**

* * *

**Being half an hour late didn't go down so well with Professor Pennington.

Ti opened the door quietly, closing it behind her and walking on her tiptoes to her seat. He had his back turned, and was writing something on the board. Just as she sat down next to Maya and placed her bag under the table, he said, "Nice of you to join us, Miss Zabini. Five points from Slytherin and you can make up for lost time after class."

Her mouth opened disbelievingly, looking around expecting to see some kind of camera. That was the thing about Pennington: It was like he had eyes in the back of his head. "But sir, that's not fair..." She said, feeling picked on already.

He turned around, stopping what he was doing. "I think you'll find I am the professor here, young lady. You will do as you're told and you'll do it without question. Understand?"

Tielle gritted her teeth. She knew answering back would get her in more trouble, but she was still really annoyed about James blackmailing her and wasn't in a good mood. "_No_. I do _not_ understand." She replied angrily, earning herself a painful kick under the table from Maya.

Pennington sighed deeply and pulled the chair out from under his desk, seating himself in it comfortably and pulling a piece of parchment from his draw. He sent a quick glare in Tielle's direction and started scratching his quill along it noisily, occasionally dipping the nib in his little bottle of ink. She had a gut feeling that what he was writing wouldn't be good; it never was.

He folded the parchment, tapped it with his wand and stood. "Miss Zabini, please take this to your head of year. I'm sure he'll be thrilled to see you again."

She snatched the parchment from him, giving him a glare of her own and stomped out of the classroom, slamming the door so hard behind her, the noise made her jump.

Muttering under her breath, she made her bag strap more comfortable on her shoulder, and set off for Professor Spence's (The Head of Slytherin House's) office. When she got there, she knocked a couple of times on the door and waited for him to respond before entering.

"Good Afternoon, Tielle." He smiled slightly, "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

Giving him a guilty smile, she walked towards his desk and handed him the folded parchment.

He opened it and scanned through the words, not really looking surprised at all. "Take a seat."

She slumped in one of the chairs, crossing her arms over her chest. "Professor, could I just say, in my defence..." She stopped. What could she say to improve the situation? _Oh, yeah. My boyfriend's brother is blackmailing me and my back hurts from when he slammed me against a wall_. That would go down _so_ well. "I'm sorry. I'm having a bad day and I just... Snapped."

"Care to adapt?" He asked calmly.

"It's a long story. I'd rather just get back to class if that's alright with you, sir."

"Of course. You're excused."

Ti smiled at him and stood up, opening the door to leave.

"Oh, and Ti?" He asked.

"Yes, sir?"

"My door is always open."

She half-smiled at him. "I'll keep that in mind. Thanks." She walked from the room, closing the door quietly behind her, glad she wasn't in trouble.

**

* * *

**That evening at dinner, Tielle spotted Albus on the Gryffindor table. He was deep in conversation with his brother, and it looked pretty serious. She was snapped out of her thoughts when someone in the direction she was looking in started waving. Realising it was Maya, she laughed slightly and smiled, giving her a little wave back.

Ti didn't see what Maya mouthed to her, because just then, Albus yelled "FINE." At James and stormed out of the Great Hall.

Not wanting to look suspicious, she quickly took another mouthful of her dinner and swallowed before leaving, too. She knew exactly where he'd be. He'd be where he always went when he wanted to cool off.

"Hey." She whispered, sitting beside him and looking out at the lake. It was dark, and the moon was reflecting in the water which was rippling under the light breeze. She let out a small shiver, and rubbed her arms.

"You're cold?" He asked.

"Nah, I'm fine." She half smiled and turned serious. "What was that all about, in the Hall back there?"

"You saw that, huh?" He let out a humourless laugh and picked up a stick beside him, snapping in different sized pieces and throwing them individually into the lake before answering. "James still doesn't like the idea of... Us."

"I kind of got that much." She nodded and moved closer to him, hoping to steal some of his body heat. That boy was like a furnace. Thankfully, he got her silent hint and pulled her into a wonderfully warm hug.

The silence was broken when Al let out a small laugh.

Looking up with slight confusion, Ti asked, "What's funny?"

Al laughed some more, shaking his head. "I can't believe you kneed him in the balls..." He tightened his grip around her, and laughed a bit more.

She rolled her eyes. "It's not _that_ funny! I could have just ruined your chance of ever having nieces or nephews..."

This, if anything, made Albus laugh even more. "Ah, you're funny." He grinned and stood up, brushing off his jeans and holding out a hand to help her up.

Taking his hand, she stood up, keeping hold onto it and slotting her fingers between his.

"Fancy a walk?" He asked.

"Even have to ask?" She answered, accompanying it with a small laugh.

They walked quietly together for a while around the lake. "So... When do you think we should start telling people about us?" Albus asked quietly, but clearly.

Ti froze. She honestly really wanted people to know they were together. She was sick of desperate girls rushing up to him in corridors and asking him to go out with them. She wanted to stop pretending that she didn't know him, and even sometimes have to ignore him when they were around other people. But she cared too much about the shit Albus would get for it. For dating her; a Slytherin. A Zabini.

"You know we can't do that..." She said quietly.

"What? So we'll just keep it a secret forever?"

"No... I never said that..."

"Is it because you're ashamed? Ashamed that you're going out with a Gryffindor?" He asked angrily, letting go of her hand.

"No! It's nothing like that!" She stepped back a bit, looking at him in shock at his sudden outburst.

He shook his head. "Whatever. I'm going back. See you later."

And he walked off. Just like that.

Tielle watched him go. She half wanted to chase after him, but she couldn't move. She was completely frozen to the spot in shock.

She sighed deeply and started walking back a few minutes later. If he was going to be like that, then so was she.

**

* * *

**Ti didn't sleep well again that night. Although this time it was for completely different reasons.

She pulled herself out of bed, not bothering to dress properly: Just putting on a pair of old jeans and a jacket over her night top, and not bothering to even brush her hair. She dragged her feet into the Great Hall and spotted Albus straight away. He didn't look so well-kempt either. Sighing slightly, she averted her gaze and found Maya on the Ravenclaw table and walked over to her slowly.

"What in the name of Merlin happened to you?" Maya asked, looking at her like she'd just done something completely absurd.

"Doesn't matter."

"It obviously does." She rolled her eyes, not believing her. "Look, we're best friends, Tielle. Were not meant to keep things from each other."

Sarah scoffed at this and Ti, who was in a very foul mood, shot her a murderous glare. "Problem?" She asked loudly.

Maya bit her lip. "Ti, not here..." She begged.

Ignoring her, Ti added, "Because if you've got a problem, trust me; I'd love to hear it."

Sarah mumbled something about, "Doesn't matter..." And looked down at the book she was reading, her face bright red.

Maya gave Ti a furious look of her own. "_What_ is _with_ you lately?" She snapped, gathering up her work, standing up. She pushed past her shoulder and stormed out of the Great Hall.

_Great. Now I've pissed her off too_, Ti thought with a huff, standing there awkwardly for a while before leaving also.

"Ti!" Someone called from behind her. She knew who it was, and she really wasn't in the mood to talk to him.

"I have _nothing_ to say to you right now." She told Albus, turning to face him. "Please, just leave me alone for a while."

He frowned and looked at his feet.

Ti rolled her eyes and turned to walk off again.

"Look, I'm sorry, okay?" He called after her.

Luckily, most people were either still in bed or in the Great Hall, so the corridor was completely deserted besides Ti and Al.

She sighed deeply and turned around to look at him. "Albus, please. Not here."

It was Ti's turn to look at the ground as he walked over to her. Lifting her chin with his thumb and forefinger, he kissed her lightly and bit his lip after he'd pulled back.

"If you think kissing me is going to solve anything..." She was cut off by him kissing her again. She kept her mouth closed firmly, forcing herself not to give in.

But Al wasn't giving up.

"Albus, don't..." She mumbled, crossing her arms stubbornly and turning her face away from him.

He just smirked and carried on, and eventually Ti gave in.

"Am I forgiven?" He pulled away to ask.

She rolled her eyes. "You're forgiven." Ti smiled and placed another kiss on his lips, knowing she could never stay mad at him for long.

There was the sound of a door closing and faint footsteps. Ti's eyes widened and she leapt back from Albus just as Maya came into view.

Looking between the two guilty faces, she asked, "What's going on here?"


	4. Chapter 4

Ti bit her lip in contemplation, uncertain who was safest to look at: Albus or Maya. The latter looked mainly confused, but Ti could see a kind of spark in her eyes, that really didn't bode well.

"_Well_?" Maya said, not knowing what to think, seeing the two so close to each other (even though they were further apart than they'd been before she came into the picture).

"Listen, Maya, you see…" Ti began, but stopped when she realised she hadn't any idea what to say. Maya's eyes blackened before she stormed past the two, and Ti saw her heading for the old Divination classroom. Maya stomped on, unlocking the door with a snarled spell and slamming the door behind her. Ti might be labouring under the impression that she hadn't seen them, but the truth was that she'd spotted them just as Al's lips had left hers. And it hardly looked like a first kiss to her. So how long had it been going on? And why had Tielle not told her? She curled up in the moss, hugging her legs and leaning her head on her knees. She felt mistrusted and confused, and couldn't for her life understand why Ti would've kept anything like that from her. They were best friends! Didn't that mean anything? And had Ti told Claire, Amelia and Rebecca? She'd better have not, Maya thought darkly. Just then, she heard the door click, and she stood up quickly, gripping her wand firmly. Ti's head poked through, her face sullen and her eyes apologetic.

"May… May I come in?" she enquired, opening the door fully. Maya sat down again, putting her wand in her pocket.

"I suppose." Tielle walked in and locked the door after her, coming closer with hesitant steps.

"Listen, Maya, I-"

"How long?" Ti looked confused.

"What do you-"

"How long has it been going on?" Maya blurted out, staring viciously at her best friend. Ti's gaze wavered, and Maya recognised it as a sign of thought. "And for _Merlin's_ sake don't lie to me." She spat.

"Maya, please…"

"Why can't you just tell me? I thought we were best friends!"

"But we are! I mean, I just didn't… I didn't want you to…"

"To what, exactly? Bloody hell, you're the Slytherin here all right. Why would I have minded? How could it possibly have hurt your relationship to tell me? _Not_ telling me has only hurt ours."

"It hasn't hurt our relationship!"

"Want a bet?"

"Maya, seriously, it's not the end of the world. Yeah, so I didn't tell you. No need to snap your wand." The Ravenclaw stood up, furious.

"It is beyond me how you can be so cool about all of this. I just don't get why this had to be a secret. Merlin, it's like I don't know you anymore!" And with those words she stormed past her frozen friend and ran out of the room.

****

**

* * *

**

First class on Wednesday was Herbology, and Maya was rather glad she didn't have to see Ti after their row earlier that morning. Of course, having dragged that idiotic conversation is, she was already ten minutes late. Well, that's _brilliant_, she thought and kicked a stone out of the way as she rushed down the lawns. Finally she reached the greenhouse and yanked the door open. Professor Longbottom paused in his lecture, and eyed the girl carefully.

"Sorry." She muttered and pushed her way over to Emma and Andrea.

"Five points from Ravenclaw." He said calmly before returning to the lecture about the uses of Fanged Geranium. Maya heaved a sigh. She never did like Herbology.

"What was that about?" Andrea whispered, though kept her eyes on the teacher as to not call attention to her.

"I'll tell you later." She hissed back, and tried to listen to what the professor was saying. To be perfectly honest, she didn't get why they had to take Herbology. Yes, she had chosen to continue with it, but mostly because she wanted a NEWT in all the subjects she could.

"Miss Wood?" She jumped up and looked at Professor Longbottom.

"Hmm?"

"Did you hear what I just said?" She reddened a bit.

"Erm… Sorry, sir." He sighed.

"Try to pay attention." She nodded and focused her eyes on him again, _really_ trying to listen this time.

After enduring three classes Maya finally dumped her things in her dorm and headed for lunch, grateful to get a bit of a break. It'd been ages since she was this uninterested in school work. If it had ever happened… While walking down the stairs, she spotted James Potter trotting towards the Great Hall in front of her. How the hell can I recognise him just by his hair?, she thought with slight irritation. Someone called his name and he turned around, catching her staring at him. She felt herself blush, and tried scowling at him when he grinned mischievously. Glaring at him for about half a second, she then stomped past him and hurried over to the Ravenclaw table, sitting down next to Emma.

"_Now_ can you tell us what that was all about?" She realised they were referring to her being late. For most people it mightn't have been a big deal. But Maya Wood didn't do the whole being-late thing. She just wasn't late. And her friends (and probably half the castle) knew this.

"I had a row with Ti, 'kay?" she snapped, not at all in the mood for any kind of talk. What she really wanted was to retreat to the library and hide among the old books for a few hours. Or days…

"Honestly?" Andrea said, eyebrows raised. "But you two never fight."

"Yeah, I know." She replied with a shrug, picking absent-mindedly in her salad.

"What about?"

"I'm not sure I should tell." Maya frowned.

"Come off it." Emma said with an eye-roll. "What would we do?"

"Fine then… But promise me you won't tell anyone. I may be pissed with her, but she obviously kept it a secret for some reason." They all nodded, and Maya looked around to make sure no one would overhear them (giving a few first-years a pointed look which made them scamper off). "Right… Erm, it's not that dig of a deal really…" Andrea rolled her eyes.

"You're pissed with her, so it's hardly nothing either."

"Well, yeah." She took a deep breath, still frowning. "Ti's dating Albus."

"Albus? As in… As in Albus Potter?" Maya nodded. Sarah clamped a hand over her mouth.

"No bloody way!"

"Yeah. Since the end of last term, apparently."

"But… Then it's been going on for like three months."

"Almost, yeah."

"And she didn't tell you?" Maya shook her head.

"She didn't tell me a thing." They all remained silent for a few moments.

"So… You're angry… Because of the relationship?"

"Hell no! He seems like a nice guy. Prefect, too. No, I'm pissed she didn't tell me, of course."

"Ah, yeah, figures…" Andrea said, to which Maya made one of her very own faces.

"Any plans on making up with her then?" Maya shook her head.

"Well, eventually, of course. But not right now. Far too angry." Emma snickered. "What?"

"Nah, never mind." She stood up. "Come on, we'd better get to class." Maya nodded, and they all stood and headed for the Ravenclaw tower to fetch their things.

* * *

After having endured Potions, Maya walked with her friends to Charms. She was, to say the least, dreading it, as she shared the class with the Slytherins, thus with Ti. She held her thick book tightly against her chest as she headed for the classroom, walking a few metres ahead of her friends. As she was not at all in the mood for talking, she thought it wise to just stay clear of them.

She arrived by the door ten minutes before the class started. With dread she looked at her watch as the seconds ticked on, bringing the inevitable closer and closer until… Professor Hayes turned up and was let past to unlock the door. Leading them all in, he headed to the front of the classroom. With a small crease on her forehead, Maya sat down on her own, deliberately not sitting close to Emma, Andrea or Sarah. They seemed to notice, but didn't comment.

"Good afternoon, class." The really rather handsome professor said. As usual, most of the girls in the group were sitting watching him closely, some of their mouths slightly open. With Ti, it was amusing. When Maya saw all the others do it, she just felt repulsed. He's a _teacher_, for Merlin's sake…

"Today, we won't be working with any new spells." There was a muffled groan going among the students. Hayes smiled. "We are to begin practicing non verbal spells." However angry and annoyed she may be, Maya straightened a bit at this. It was no new spell, but it was a whole new way of performing the ones she already knew, which were a fair few. He was about to start speaking again before he closed his mouth and looked around the room.

"Where is Miss Zabini?" No one said anything, and he automatically looked at Maya. "Have you seen her?" Maya shook her head.

"No, sir."

"Really?" he couldn't help but say, and a few girls snickered.

"No, I haven't seen her." She said again, forcing herself not to roll her eyes.

"Well… All right. I'll have a word with Professor Spence later." He scribbled a quick note on a small piece of parchment. "Right then. Let's get started. Non verbal spells are, as I hope you all know by the name, when one performs a spell, charm or hex without uttering the incantation." He strode around the desk and stood in front of it, crossing his arms over his chest. "Can anyone tell me why this could be needed?" Normally, Maya's hand would've been raised before the question had even been completed. But today, even though she was interested in the topic, she didn't move, and let Emma answer.

"In a duel, casting a spell without saying it gives you a small benefit, as the opponent won't know what it is you're planning on doing."

"True, true. But, this isn't a Defence class. Come on, why would you need to use non verbal spells in your every day life?" There was silence. Maya rolled her eyes to herself and raised her hand.

"Yes, Miss Wood?"

"For instance, if you're in a place where you are not allowed to speak, this is a way of going around it. Also, if you can't speak, you still have an opportunity to perform spells."

"Excellent. Ten points to Ravenclaw for both of your answers." Maya sighed slightly. Great.

"Now, let's start with trying to cast a summoning spell without uttering a single word." He opened a cabinet and threw out a large number of rubber ducks. The class laughed. "Yes, I'm rather fond of these. Though the cabinet gives me different objects all the time. Anyway. Now then, try it out. You need to really concentrate, almost yelling the spell in your head. Begin." Maya picked up her wand, and rested her eyes on a smaller duck lying half hidden behind the professor's desk. Around her she heard a few people whisper the spell, and saw some people gritting their teeth not to. Focusing on the duck, she frowned and concentrated. _Accio_. It didn't move. Come on now, ducky, I now you love me, really. _Accio_. It shuffled closer, but nothing more. I know you want toooo… _Accio_. It flew across half the floor and then fell to the ground in front of her desk. Bugger.

"Fantastic, Miss Wood!" Hayes exclaimed and beamed at her. "Five points to Ravenclaw." Yeah, not at all 'cause you're the Head of Ravenclaw… she thought sullenly. After that she managed to summon the stupid duck four times in a row, and Hayes was so happy he let them all finish fifteen minutes earlier.

"Just remember to practice!" he cheered as they left. Emma hurried up to Maya as they walked out.

"He's nuts. Anyway. How are you?"

"I'm fine." She answered in a clipped tone, making her way to the stairs.

"Yeah, that's crap. Come on, tell me."

"Listen Emma, thanks for the concern and whatever, but I am not in the mood."

"Merlin's beard, tell me already!"

"Emma, for _heaven's_ sake, just-" She cut off mid-sentence and stopped dead in her tracks. Emma stopped too, looking at her weirdly.

"What?" Maya stared forward. At the bottom of the large staircase was Ti. Maya gasped angrily and screamed at her:

"Why the hell are you talking to _him_?"


	5. Chapter 5

**HEY! Long time no write... Don't blame Maya, blame me. I've had lack of inspiration. I was at school and some struck, so I got it written down as soon as possible for you!**

**For the record: I don't smoke. Just wanted to be clear, there.**

**Enjoy, and please review!**

**Ti, x**

* * *

Ti really couldn't be bothered to go to Charms. She didn't want to face Maya again after what had happened. She knew it was her own fault, but a small part of her couldn't help being mad back at her.

She sat, sulking in her dormitories for the majority of the lesson, looking at the time twenty five minutes before the class was due to finish, and deciding to go for a walk. "Who cares if I get caught..." She muttered to herself, rolling up the sleeves of her new jacket and exiting the dorm, quickly slipping on her boots.

She'd been walking for five minutes when, she walked quite literally into none other than James Potter. _Again._

She sighed deeply and turned around to walk the other way.

"Why aren't you in lesson?" He asked.

She stopped and looked over her shoulder. "I could ask you the same question. And it's really none of your business. Just leave me alone, okay?"

She put her hands in her pockets and started walking again, flicking her head to the side to get her fringe out of her face.

She carried on walking until she reached the bottom of the large Entrance Hall staircase where James stopped her. "Ti, a deal is a deal..."

"Well, Maya's sort of pissed off with me right now and we're not talking. Why? BECAUSE SHE FOUND OUT ABOUT ME AND AL." She practically screamed at him. Her and Maya had never fallen out before in their life. Well, they had. Just not like this, and Ti was finding it particularly hard not having her best friend around.

"Okay, okay. Keep your hair on..." He muttered at her, raising his arms in mock surrender.

"If you want me to make you infertile, I suggest you carry on pissing me off, Potter, because as I've told you, I'M NOT IN THE MOOD." He really was going the right way for another kick in the balls.

James rolled his eyes, reminding Ti of the times her and Maya had done their synchronised eye-rolling. "Look, Ti..."

"It's Zabini to you." She corrected him.

"Fine." He said through gritted teeth, "_Zabini_. How about we make a deadline?"

"How about we don't?"

"How about I tell everybody about your little Romeo and Juliet shit you have going on with my brother?"

"You're missing something here, Potter. As you said: If anybody found out that your brother was dating me, _your_ rep would be ruined." Ti smiled humourlessly and moved her mouth closer to his ear. "So you have absolutely nothing on me." She said quietly, pushing him away from her and turning to see Maya looking at her furiously.

"Why the hell are you talking to _him_?" She screamed.

Ti looked at Maya, her mouth forming an 'O' shape. This couldn't exactly look good, could it?

"Maya... I can explain..." She said desperately, feeling her stomach flip over.

"No, I don't want to hear it." She replied. "Normally, I'd storm off, but I have to go this way for transfiguration." She said angrily, storming past them both and walking down the corridor so fast, Ti was sure her legs would fall off.

Ti sighed and looked towards James, her look of fuming distaste evident. "Just leave me alone, okay?" She asked calmly. "You've ruined enough."

And with that, she ran off after Maya, hoping to catch her. She didn't mind if she was late for Herbology. When would she need Herbology later on in life, anyway? It's not like she wanted to be a gardener.

But by the time she'd reached the Transfiguration corridor, it was completely deserted. No Maya. No anybody.

The noise of anger that escaped her lips echoed around the walls, and she set off slowly for Herbology. A double period with the Hufflepuffs. Joy.

Ti had half a mind to just go back to her dorm and sulk, but she hoped being in a lesson would take her mind off of things.

By the time she reached the greenhouses, she was ten minutes late. Professor Longbottom would have her head. To make it seem as though she'd at least made an effort to be on time to lesson, she decided to run the rest of the few feet to the door, and come in looking flustered. Unfortunately, she tripped as she ran in and fell right onto somebody, knocking him off his chair.

She bit her lip as she opened her eyes, hoping it wouldn't be anybody she knew. How embarrassing would that be? But, as her luck went, it was none other than Scorpius Malfoy.

"You just can't help falling at my feet, can you?" He asked with a grin.

Ti shook her head and laughed. "Don't flatter yourself, Scor... You okay?"

"Swell." He replied, standing up and brushing himself off and holding out a hand to help her up.

"It's fine, I've got it." She told him, pouting slightly and getting up by herself. She looked over at her usual table, where Amélia, Claire and Rebecca were sitting with two random Hufflepuffs they sometimes talked to. "Thanks for saving me a seat." She smiled at them sarcastically, huffing and then flung her bag onto the only table with a seat left, which just happened to be next to Scorpius. He was sitting with his friends, Dane, Mark and Mitch.

"Thank you for disrupting my lesson, Ms Zabini." Professor Longbottom said, raising an eyebrow. It was quite uncharacteristic, actually. He was probably having one of his stressed out days.

"Whatever." She muttered in reply, crossing her arms and slouching back in her seat.

"Ten points from Slytherin, and you can go and stand outside."

"What?" She asked disbelievingly.

"You heard me. Outside, now."

_Stuff that_, she thought, picking up her bag and walking out of the room, slamming the door behind her angrily. Dorm it was, then.

* * *

The weather was horrible that evening. The rain lashed against the windows and the darkness made the lightening seem even more eerie.

Ti was in tons of trouble for skipping a large percentage of her classes that day, as Amélia had informed her when her and the others came up to deposit their bags after lessons. "Oh, and Professor Spence wants to see you." She'd added, before walking off and closing the door behind her loud enough to make her jump.

Now it was an hour later, and there were footsteps on the stairs, accompanied by laughter. Claire, Amélia and Rebecca stopped, however when they saw their dorm-mate still sitting on her bed with her arms folded stubbornly, exactly as they'd left her.

"Honestly, Ti, if you don't go and see him, you'll be in even more trouble." Claire told her, walking into the bathroom and coming back out in less than five seconds.

"What have you lost now?" Rebecca asked her, laughing slightly. It was so like Claire to lose things.

"Don't worry about it." Claire shrugged, opening one of the desk drawers sharply. "What the..." She trailed, pulling out a half empty cigarette packet.

Ti pouted slightly and remained silent.

"Whose are they?" Claire asked sternly, looking at each of their faces in turn.

She had always been the most sensible of the four. Ti sometimes wondered how she'd got into Slytherin at all. Her heart was in the right place, and she was hardly ever in trouble. The last time she knew of was two years ago, and it had been Ti's fault anyway. She had the characteristics of a kind, friendly Hufflepuff. Though she was quite witty and cunning at getting out of things, much like a true Slytherin did.

"C'mon, Claire. Live a little." Ti sighed, getting up and snatching the pack from her, then turning to the drawer and retrieving her lighter, too. "Anyone needs me, I'll be by the lake."

She tugged on her leather jacket again and slipped on her boots. "Don't look at me like that." She rolled her eyes at her aghast looking friends and slammed the door, defeated.

Everything was screwed up. First, Maya wasn't talking to her, then she'd got in trouble with one of her favourite Professors, and the head of year, and now her friends had found out about her most disgusting habit. Great. She knew if Maya ever found about her smoking habits, she'd be even more pissed at her.

Maya despised smoking with every fibre of her being, which Ti fully knew, though she continued to do so anyway.

She didn't do it from peer-pressure; as far as she knew, nobody even knew she smoked anyway, with the exception of Albus, whom she told everything to and then Claire, Amélia and Rebecca, though they didn't really count seeing as they'd only just found out. She did it to escape from the horrors of the real world, not to 'fit in'.

When she reached her spot by the lake, it was already pre-occupied by somebody... Somebody that looked an awful lot like... "Maya?" She asked quietly.

The girl turned around sharply. "Oh. It's you." She huffed. It was still dark, but Ti could tell by the voice that it was in fact Maya.

_Crap_, she thought, quickly stowing the lighter and cigarettes into her jacket pocket in what she hoped was a nonchalant way.

"What are you doing here?" Maya asked, turning back around and folding her arms angrily.

"I could ask you the same question." Ti replied coolly, taking a seat beside her. "Look, I know you're mad at me for lying to you... I'm sorry, I really am..."

"Ti, not now." Maya interrupted. "I think... I don't know. I just can't believe you didn't tell me... Do you not trust me?"  
"Of course I trust you! It's just... I don't know. I really felt bad keeping if from you. You're my best friend, Maya."

Maya sighed deeply, looking towards her friend. "You're mine too." She said quietly. "No more secrets, deal?"

"Deal." She smiled, reaching over to hug her. Unluckily, though, her pockets weren't very good at holding items, and her half consumed cigarette pack fell out onto the ground in between the two girls.

Maya frowned slightly and picked it up, examining it. "Tielle, what the hell is this?" She asked furiously, her teeth gritted.

Ti knew that Maya could perfectly well identify the object she was holding.

"It's... I..."

"Save your breath." Maya spat, getting up from her rather comfortable position regrettably and storming up to the castle.

Ti sighed and got comfy. She'd been within distance of getting her best friend back, and she'd ruined it yet again.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter six then. This was... strange writing. One moment I loved it and then I got really insecure, lol XD No, but I reckon it's okay. "T" says I got Ti right, so that's gooooood. **  
**Do review!**

**M. Sunshine

* * *

**

Maya pressed a pillow as hard as she could against her face. She felt so annoyed, and so confused and so angry. Ti had apologised, and they'd just been about to make up and of course something would ruin it! On the other hand, she couldn't believe Ti was smoking. Really? Was that the same Ti she knew and loved? She wasn't sure. With a frustrated sigh she sat back up and stared into the wall for a few moments before deciding she needed to read, or study, or do something. She got off her bed and hoisted her satchel over her shoulder before leaving the dorm. With one hand she tugged at her tie, loosening it a bit and unbuttoned the top button of her shirt. _Finally, I can breathe_, she thought as she left the tower and made her way to the library, the only place where it was actually silent (and also where it was very unlikely that she would meet Ti, because, let's face it, she stayed away if she had a choice). Choosing a free table, Maya sat down and almost slammed down her Potions textbook to begin working on the three foot essay the class had been assigned. It was, as usual, very silent in the room, but any rustle of paper or small whisper set her on edge, and she ground her teeth in irritation.

"Something bothering you?" Startled, she almost knocked her bottle of ink over, but managed to catch it before it toppled over the edge of the sturdy wooden table. Looking up, she faced a mop of dark hair, framing a handsome face.

"Well?" James Potter raised an eyebrow, looking moderately curious. _What the hell would he be doing in the library? It's not as if he ever studies… _Maya felt her heart beat faster and the hairs on her neck stand up. Taking care not to stutter, she replied:

"No. Why do you ask?"

"You just looked… agitated." She snorted.

"Can't be happy all the time. Now if you don't mind, I do have work to do." And with that, she turned back to her book, but saw through the corner of her eye how he bit his lip before wandering off. She felt like slamming her head into the wood. _Why the _hell_ am I rejecting him?_ Rubbing her eyes, she continued to work, trying to ignore the gnawing feeling that she was being watched.

* * *

The days dragged on, and Maya was infinitely glad when she trudged back to Ravenclaw tower with Emma, Andrea and Sarah after the last class on Friday. She hadn't spoken to Ti for days, and though she missed her she didn't know what to do. Tielle knew she despised smoking, and thought that anyone who did such a thing were idiots. For the love of Merlin, why had she started? And _when_ had she started for that matter. Huffing, she flung her bag down on her bed and waited for the other to follow her down to dinner. It was at times like this that she was glad they were in different houses. It meant they wouldn't really see each other at meals or in the Common room and they didn't share a dorm. She shook her head sadly. It wasn't right thinking like that… Sighing, she walked a few metres ahead of the other girls to the Great Hall.

"You okay?" Andrea asked as they sat down to eat. "You look a bit, I dunno, off." Maya shrugged and pushed her vegetables around.

"I haven't spoken to Ti in a few days…"

"I noticed that." Emma frowned. "Did you guys have a fight?" Maya shrugged. "Answer meee…"

"Not really fight, I wouldn't say. More like… disagreed." Emma rolled her eyes at her friend's try at toning things down. It was obvious Maya was distraught.

"About what?" Sarah enquired, looking sort of interested. Maya really didn't want to tell her friends about her quarrel with Ti.

"Erm… Something."

"Oh come on. We've known each other for years." Maya, being short tempered, frowned.

"I'm not telling you, so stop nagging me about it." She snapped.

"Gee, who rattled your cage?" Emma muttered.

"Well I'm sorry-y for displeasing you." Maya fumed and stood up. "I might as well leave then." Without waiting for a reply, she stormed out of the Hall, feeling her friends' bewildered look boring into her neck. Tears were filling her eyes, and she irritably wiped at them, making the corners of her eyes sting. She found herself outside the old Divination classroom, and sniffled as she walked inside, locking the door. The soft moss muffled her steps as she headed for her favourite tree. Sitting down and leaning on the trunk, she closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. Come on, Maya, get yourself together… She swiped the few stray tears away. Just then, the door clicked and swung open. She got to her feet quickly, clutching her wand tightly. Ti wandered in, her eyes on the floor, not noticing Maya. She was mumbling to herself, and sat down by a different tree; hugging her knees and placing her head face down on her arms. Maya felt slightly awkward. They hadn't been this close to each other apart from in class, and it felt as though she was interrupting something by just staring at her best friend (though, technically, Ti was the one who'd walked in on Maya), not making her presence known.

"Ti?" It was barely a whisper, but the other girl snapped her head up. Her eyes were red and swollen, obviously from crying. Maya swallowed her own tears.

"Oh." She said simply. "Hey…"

"Hi…" This was followed by a strained silence. Neither girl knew what to do. Maya was still on her feet, her wand hanging by her side, and Ti was sitting motionless, her blue eyes trained on Maya.

"I…" Maya started, but trailed off, completely perplexed and uncomfortable about the whole situation.

"Why are you here?" The words seemed harsh, and Maya flinched slightly, but tried to convince herself that Ti hadn't meant it like that, that she was just as confused and hurt as she, Maya, was…

"I needed to be alone."

"And how did that work out for you?" Maya clenched her teeth together.

"What is wrong with you?" Snorting, Tielle stood.

"What's wrong with _me_? _You're_ the one who's been avoiding me for almost a week!"

"It's been four days!"

"Whatever!" They both breathed heavily, and Maya closed her eyes briefly to try and keep the building head ache away.

"Ti…" She waited, and looked up into the fake sky. "Ti, please…" Her own eyes filled with tears that immediately fell down and traced across her cheeks. "I can't do this anymore…" she whispered.

"Well this is your fault." Ti snapped back, though she was still crying.

"Please just… Can't you… Why are you smoking?" She settled for the easiest question. Ti struggled for words, and shrugged.

"I don't know… It just… Sort of happened."

"Sort of?" Another shrug. "Will you please stop? Please, please, please! For me? It'll kill you." The thought made her shiver. "You have to realise it's bloody dangerous!"

"I know it is, Maya."

"Then why in Merlin's name are you doing it?" Shrug. Maya pinched the bridge of her nose. "This is going to sound awful, but I can't hang out with you if you smoke." A look of disbelief struck Tielle's face. "Don't look at me like that. You know I hate it, and I don't want any of that junk inside me, which I will get if I stay around you." Ti looked hurt by those words, but Maya couldn't bear lying to her. They needed to get a few things straight. "It's dangerous. It slowly kills you, destroys your lungs, and you are _willingly_ doing this to yourself?" Ti looked like she wanted to protest, but Maya wouldn't let her. "From the first time we met I told you how I hated smoking. It makes you look like an idiot, and yet people seem to think it's 'cool'." She put a cold emphasis on the last word, staring at Ti. "And now I find out that my best friend is acting this way? Of course I'm bloody pissed off! I thought you were smarter than that."

"Yeah, 'cause I'm a smart person." She commented sarcastically.

"_Yes_, you are." Maya insisted. "There are different kinds of smart. Book smart and street smart for example. You're street smart. But this," she waved her arms demonstratively, "This is pure crap." Stuffing her wand into her robe, she strode over to the door. "Come find me when you've stopped smoking. Until then…" She just kept Ti's gaze for another moment before yanking the door open and rushing away.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N -**

**Sorry for my absence! I was just so into this chapter that it went on for a rather long time... It had better make up for it. xD**

**Anyway, enjoy it, and don't forget to drop a review. I may just have to bribe you with cybercookies...**

**~~Ti, x

* * *

**

Two days after their run-in in classroom eleven, Ti found herself leaning against a tree by the lake, wondering how her best friend relationship with Maya was now hanging on by such loose threads it was possible that if worse came to it, they could lose each other for good.

She'd risked it and bought her half-consumed packet of cigarettes with her. She knew if Maya caught her again it would definitely be their friendship going up in flames rather than the cigarettes, but when had Tielle ever cared about getting caught? Life wasn't worth living without a little risk.

Sighing, she took one out and placed it in her mouth. But something kept her from picking her wand up and lighting it. The conversation that had taken place between the two girls had been replaying in her mind like a stuck record ever since Maya had left. It was probably the thought of her best friend that made her take it out of her mouth and, along with the rest of the pack, threw it into the lake.

There was no way she was picking some disgusting habit over her best friend.

She actually felt quite relieved as she stood up, brushed her hands and jeans off, then set off back up to the school for dinner. She'd have to find Maya and apologise. She'd overreacted by saying it was all Maya's fault. It wasn't. If she hadn't been stupid and started smoking, none of it would have come about in the first place.

Walking into the Great Hall, she took a deep breath and headed over to the Ravenclaw table. She couldn't see Maya, so she just looked as she walked along it. That was when she reached Andrea, Emma and Sarah. The appeared to be unhappy with her sudden appearance.

"Maya's not here," Emma informed her, her tone seeming icy.

Ti wondered what she'd done to annoy Maya's friends. It's not like they were friends themselves, so they couldn't really judge.

"Oh, right..." She said awkwardly. "Well, do you know where she is?"

"No," Sarah snapped. "And I'm pretty sure even if we _did_ know; she wouldn't want us telling _you_."

Ti, through clenched teeth, sighed deeply and made herself stay calm. Her natural Slytherin instinct was telling her to pick a fight, but that tiny thought of her and Maya being friends again overpowered it.

She just gave them a cold glare and a hair flick over the shoulder, then walked out of the Hall rather dramatically. Some help they were.

If there was one place Maya would be other than Ravenclaw tower, it would be the Library. Tielle, after knowing the girl for six years, knew the Maya motto rather well: _When in doubt, go to the Library._

Perfect.

She headed straight there. At least, she thought she did. After walking through countless corridors, she realised that she actually had no idea how to get there without Maya's assistance. It's not like she'd ever willingly go there alone.

She pouted for a second, then let out a heavy frustrated sigh.

"Lost?" came a voice from down the corridor.

Ti turned and looked at him, letting a low chuckle escape her. "Do you know where the Library is?" she asked, biting her lip.

"Merlin, Ti. It's on the other side of the castle!" Scorpius Malfoy laughed, shaking his head.

"Oh... Well, do you mind taking me there?" She smiled innocently.

"Fine, fine," he shook his head and started walking, with Ti following suit.

After a few seconds of silence, Scorpius pursed his lips then looked towards her. "According to my parents we're coming to your place for Christmas," he said, in an obvious attempt to make conversation.

"Yeah, dad mentioned it... But I made plans to go to Maya's," she shrugged.

"I thought the two of you fell out..."

"It's nothing we can't sort out. Hence why I need to go the library."

"So did you make those plans before or after you found out we were coming?" he asked after a short pause, raising an eyebrow.

Sighing, Ti shook her head. There was no point in lying to him. "After..."

He nodded, his smug smile still in place.

"It wasn't because of you," she lied, crossing her arms and setting her jaw in place. She didn't want to add on that she didn't like his company much. He was alright, but he and his friends (more like followers) just got on her nerves sometimes.

"Of course not," he nodded, obviously not believing her.

"Look, I don't feel that way about you anymore, Malfoy. That was two years ago, and it was just a small crush. Let it go, already."

Obviously disappointed by this answer, Scorpius sighed. "You know I don't have to walk you..."

"Then don't!" she snapped before he'd even had the chance to finish his sentence.

She had a rough idea of where they were. She'd just go back to the Entrance Hall and find Albus. She hadn't spent much time with him recently, which was a shame, really. She'd briefly explained to him about her fall-out with Maya, and he'd understood that she wanted to be left alone for a while. Sometimes she thought he was too perfect to be true.

Ti set off down the corridor alone and eventually found her way to the Main Staircase. It was just plain luck that she spotted Albus about to walk through the big doors to the Great Hall with some friends.

She was so happy to see him that she completely forgot about the fact that the two of them dating was a secret.

Running up to him, she grinned. "Hey! I know I've not been the best girlfriend recently, and I'll make it up to you, I swear... But I kind of need a teensy favour," she pouted.

Al looked like he was in shock, and Ti realised what she'd done. She'd just said that in front of all his friends and all of the other people within hearing distance. There was no way she could go around and obliviate everyone's minds... That would take far too long!

Recovering, Albus reached over and took hold of her hand. "Sure. What is it, love?" he asked, planting a light kiss on her cheek, and then smiling.

Ti was more than confused now. She eyed him suspiciously and whispered, "What are you doing?"

"I've been getting signs that maybe people should know about us all week. This one was practically yelling at me, so..."

"But... You'll get so much crap because of me," she said, looking at her feet.

"I don't care," he said simply, lifting her chin so that she was looking at him. "I'm not ashamed. Not at all."

Ti grinned and returned his earlier cheek-kiss, then looked around to a few stunned faces. She didn't care anymore. She had Albus, and hopefully soon, Maya.

"What was it you wanted, _cariño_?" Al asked her with a smile.

Ti loved it when he called her any form of _love_ in other languages. He often called her _querida_ and _cariño_. At first, Ti had had no idea what either of them meant, but after some quick research, she'd found out that they meant _dear_ and _love_.

Not helping but to grin, she shrugged. "I need to find Maya. I just assumed she'd be in the library."

"You don't know where the library is?" He asked, not keeping the evident surprise from his tone.

"Shush, you," she laughed giving him a small playful shove.

Shaking his head and laughing, Albus looked towards his friends and told him he'd catch up with them later, then started walking, pulling Ti lightly by the hand up the stairs from the Entrance Hall.

When they finally got there, Ti realised what she'd done. She'd just taken a right at the staircase when she should have taken a left. Surprisingly, she'd been in the exact right location, just on the wrong side of the school.

Looking inside the door, Ti spotted Maya sitting alone at the end of one of the tables.

"If you want to talk to her alone, I can find the way back by myself..." he offered.

"No, I feel guilty for not spending time with you lately. I've missed you."

"I've missed you too! But this is more of a conversation you two should have alone. We can meet up later, yeah?"

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Ti smiled and pulled him into a hug before walking hesitantly into the library. She'd never felt more out of place in her life.

She invited herself to sit with Maya and crossed her arms on the table, resting her chin in her hands. When Maya didn't look up, she cleared her throat.

"May I help you?" She asked, not taking her eyes off her work.

"Looking at me would be a start," she suggested, leaning back in her chair.

Maya sighed and placed her quill onto the table carefully to avoid splatters, then looked at the older of the two.

"I came to say sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you the other day, and I shouldn't have blamed our falling out on you. You were right. And my—" Ti took a look around, "—_supplies_ are water logged now, probably being enjoyed my merpeople at the bottom of the lake as we speak."

Maya couldn't help but smile, and reached over to give her friend a hug. "Thank you for the apology, and I'm glad you've stopped," she said.

"But...?"

"But I only have two sentences left to write, and I'm in my place."

Ti laughed and shook her head. That was just typical Maya. "I'll wait, then," she said, watching as the other girl scribbled some more words onto her parchment, then put in the last full-stop.

"There!" She said, tapping it with her wand and watching as it rolled itself up into a neat reel.

"Now, Albus is in the Great Hall. I want you to meet him properly," she smiled, waiting for Maya to pack up her things before standing and leaving the library with her.

This was going to be great! Albus was a bit of a bookworm who loved schoolwork, so he and Maya would probably get along perfectly! At least her best friend and boyfriend would get along. That had to be positive, right?

As they approached the Great Hall, Ti saw Albus through the doors and automatically smiled. He was at the Gryffindor table with James and a few of their friends. There were a couple of seats next to them, so Ti started walking over.

Maya, however, had other ideas.

"Actually, I think I'll just go... Go find Professor Haynes," she said, pursing her lips and nodding, then turning to start walking off.

"Maya? Wha..."

Ah. James was sitting over there. And, now that Al and Ti were exclusive, James had nothing on her. The deal was off. Therefore, she was dragging Maya over there and making sure the two of them spoke to one another and got together already.

"You like him, he likes you, would you two just _date_ already?" Ti laughed, grabbing her hand and pulling her over to the Gryffindor table with her.

At this, Maya struggled in her friend's grasp, blushing deeply and finally pulling herself free. "No!" she exclaimed firmly, crossing her arms and huffing.

"See, you even knew who I was talking about and I never even mentioned his name."

"So?"

Ti sighed and stopped. "Look, just forget James is there. I just want you to meet my boyfriend properly. Please?" she added, giving her best sad-face.

Maya rolled her eyes. "Fine. But if he talks to me, I'm leaving."

Restraining herself from laughing, Ti just shook her head and allowed Maya to follow her freely, taking a seat next to Al and smiling. "Al, this is my best friend, Maya," she said. "And Maya, this is my boyfriend, Albus."

She waited for them to greet each other and side glanced James, who was now completely blanking his friends and looking at Maya instead.

Ti felt like she hadn't done anything very Slytherin recently, so she turned to James. "Potter, you know Maya, right?"

She grinned mischievously, pulled Al up by the hand and walked out of the Hall with him rather quickly before Maya could say another word to her.

When they were half way through crossing the Entrance Hall, the more than familiar voice of Scorpius Malfoy found them.

"I heard about you and Potter," he informed them, crossing his arms.

Ti, at this point, desired nothing more than to punch the silly little smirk right off of his face.

"What about us?" she asked, keeping a steady grip on Al's hand.

"Your father must be so proud," he said coldly. "His little girl is dating a Potter."

Sighing, Ti gave him a look that showed her feelings. "Shut up."

"Oh, hit a nerve, did I?" He drawled, sounding an awful lot like his father.

"Just stop talking, or I'll hit _your_ nerve. Capiche?"

"I don't like your tone," he said simply. "How about I tell Potter, here, about what happened earlier today?"

"_I_ don't know what happened earlier today. Enlighten me, will you?"

Albus was standing there looking from one to the other as they spoke, obviously as confused as Ti was.

"You know, when you asked me to help you find the Library?"

"What? When I said I had a little crush on you Merlin knows how many years ago? Albus knows I used to fancy you. Get to the point?"

"Don't tell me you forgot about our kiss _already_?"

Ti stood there in confusion for a few seconds. Albus loosened his grip on her hand slightly, but didn't let go. "Okay, what the _hell_ are you talking about?" she asked. He was trying to break them up. Ti wasn't going to let that happen...

"You know perfectly well," Scorpius said, "No hard feelings, right, Potter? I mean, she didn't tell me she had a boyfriend." He then proceeded to shrug, dig his hands into his pockets and walk off without waiting for an answer.

When he was out of sight, Albus let go of her hand as if she had some kind of contagious disease he'd only just found out about. "Care to explain?" he asked, sounding like he was extremely mad, just trying to stay calm.

"What? Don't tell me you believe him! There's nothing to explain because nothing happened!"

"Right. So how did he know you needed to find the Library earlier?"

"I was lost on the wrong side of the castle, and he happened to be the first person to find me."

"So you were with him?"

"Yes, but nothing happened. He walked me down a few corridors, then started going off on one about me crushing on him ages ago, so I got pissed off and, in hopes of finding you, found the rest of the way to the Entrance Hall by myself..."

"Wait," Albus interrupted her. "How come you looked so flustered when you found me, then?"

"Because I was pis... Hold on, you... You _believe _him?"

"I really don't know what to believe anymore," he shrugged. "Maybe this... Us wasn't such a..."

Before he could say another word, Ti just shook her head, turned and started walking away. She knew she wouldn't be able to cope with him finishing his sentence. Reciting it in her head on repeat would be even more torture, otherwise.

When she found Scorpius, which she would, he was going to be spending a long time in the Hospital Wing recovering. How _dare_ he? What gave him the right to decide whom she could and couldn't date?

Did he really hate her so much that he wanted to see her miserable?

When Ti reached her dorm, she let herself cry. She was trying not to, but some tears just spilt over and there was nothing she could do to stop them. Nothing at all.

She knew that she wouldn't be leaving her dormitory for a rather long time. There was no way she was leaving, not for anything. Not even food. At that particular point in her life, she couldn't even care less if she starved to death.

* * *

When Tielle woke the following morning, her eyes were still stinging from crying herself to sleep. She hardly ever cried, and now she'd cried herself dry over a _boy_.

'But he's not just a boy,' he conscience kept telling her.

Her conscience was right. He was Albus: The boy she felt more strongly about than anybody else, not just in Hogwarts, but on the planet. She knew this was a bit of a drastic thought, but it was true.

She didn't change her clothes, nor get out of bed. It would be like this for a few days, at least.

"I'm ill," she insisted when Claire came to wake her so she wouldn't be late.

"Have you been... Crying?" she asked cautiously.

"No. I'm fine. Just ill," she concluded, pulling the curtain back around so that she was practically concealed in darkness once more.

She was still in bed when Professor Spence, came in to see her around break time. Obviously one of her friends had told him she was ill. Being the head of house, it was his job to check on these things.

"You seem fine," he said, not seeming surprised.

"I'm ill," she repeated in a monotone for what felt like the millionth time that day, and not caring whether it sounded genuine or not.

"Maybe you'd do better in the hospital wing?" he offered. It was obvious that he knew she was perfectly healthy, but he must have realised that something wasn't right with her.

"I'm just going to stay in bed here," she said, turning over and placing her face in her pillow, only leaving a small gap at the bottom to breathe.

"Since I'm here, I have to ask... Can you please come to my office later?" he asked.

"Why?"

"I'll excuse you from the rest of your lessons if you just come to my office at half past six. Okay?"

"Fine," she replied shortly, keeping her eyes closed and her face in her pillow. What did a girl need to do to be alone nowadays?

She waited until she was alone, then turned back over to find that she could produce tears again as some slid off her cheek onto her pillow.

* * *

When quarter past six came, Ti was really sleepy. She'd been sleeping most of the day. There was no other way to keep her mind off of things – But when she'd been awake; her inconsolable crying had completely worn her down.

She didn't make an effort. She just cleaned up her face and changed into a casual muggle attire, consisting of jeans and an oversized hoodie.

Luckily, she didn't bump into anybody on the way there. She was rather grateful for her knowledge of the secret passageways and hidden corridors throughout the castle for getting herself there unseen by just about everybody.

But nothing could prepare her for what she saw after she'd been granted entrance into the office. There was Professor Spence sitting behind his large wooden desk, and opposite him were two chairs. One was already occupied.

"Dad?" Ti asked, looking from him to Spence and back.

"Take a seat please, Miss Zabini."

Pursing her lips, Ti sat down slowly and crossed her legs. "What have I done this time?" she asked, not having the faintest idea why this had to involve her father.

"You've not done anything," Spence said. "Actually, your father wants to talk to you privately." He gave what seemed to be forced smile and stood up from his desk. "I shall leave you two to it, then."

Blaise nodded once in thanks and, after making sure nobody could hear them, looked towards his daughter hesitantly.

When he didn't speak straight away, Ti got slightly worried. This was probably the first time she'd ever seen her father unable to form words.

"What is it?" she asked him quietly, feeling a heavy weight in the pit of her stomach. She was jumping to conclusions in her head, none of them very nice. Had somebody died? Was he ill? What was so private that they'd practically kicked professor Spence out of his office?

"I really don't know how to tell you this... Partly because I have no idea whether you'll like it or not."

"If you tell me, you'll find out..." she joked, trying to lighten the mood, even though she could blatantly tell he was struggling with whatever it was.

"I got an owl yesterday," he said, pursing his lips then exhaling heavily through his nose. "Your biological parents want to meet you."

Ti sat in shocked silence for at least fifteen seconds before she remembered how to talk. "What?" she asked quietly. Obviously she'd heard him – She just didn't know what to make of the situation.

Were they _crazy_? They'd left their newborn daughter on a doorstep and just gone off and lived their lives without a care in the world about her. They'd never once checked on her wellbeing, never once thanked Blaise for taking her in.

Why should she even give them the time of day?

"Well I don't want to meet them," she summed up eventually, crossing her arms. Blaise looked slightly relieved at this. Ti couldn't blame him, really. As she'd always said – They'd abandoned her. Blaise was her real father as far as she was concerned. Sure, she got jealous when people talked about their mothers. She'd never had a mother figure. She had her grandmother, but she very rarely saw her. Blaise wanted her, and her parents didn't. It was that simple, and it was too late to change anything. She'd be seventeen soon anyway. Of age. If they wanted to know her, why hadn't they tried before now?

"I have you as family. I don't need anybody else," Ti shrugged, feeling mushy. She'd been bought up by Blaise Zabini. She really had no idea how she ended up as mushy as she was.

Her father smiled and nodded. "I'll reply to their owl in the morning."

"Make sure they don't know where we live. And suggest that I don't go to Hogwarts. I don't want them finding me on a Hogsmeade weekend... Actually, you may as well just tell them I died."

Seeing her father's impressed face, she shrugged. "I learnt from the best," she smiled. Smiling felt weird. She hadn't smiled in ages... And in a sudden blast of thought, Ti remembered why not. Albus. The waterworks suddenly started again out of nowhere, and she struggled to keep herself from crying again. It was ridiculous. She'd cried quite enough.

She sniffled and subtly wiped her face. She hadn't cried in front of her father since she was five and fell over in the park. Life had been easier when she'd only cried over a scraped knee. Why had nobody warned her about the confusing teenager years?

"What the..." Blaise muttered. "Ti?" he asked, seeming awkward with her inconsolable crying.

"It's nothing..." she struggled to say, completely defeating the object of the sentence.

He looked ready to perform the Cruciatus curse. It was odd how he'd realised that it wasn't anything to do with the news he'd just told her.

Then again, Ti was surprised he hadn't noticed something was up sooner. She was wearing the clothes she'd normally lounge around in at home when she was feeling too lazy to do anything. She wasn't wearing makeup, and her hair looked like she'd been dragged through a hedge backwards. And forwards. And backwards again.

"I don't know. I just want to go home... Or change schools, or... Anything but stay here..."

Blaise just looked confused and uncomfortable.

"Please, dad? Can I just come home for a few days?" she asked. She didn't think she could handle sneaking around the castle all the time to try and avoid Al.

Looking at loss of what to do, Blaise just sighed. "I'll see what I can do."

Ti smiled and practically flung herself at him for a hug, muttering her thanks into his now tear stained shoulder.

When she eventually let go and sat back in her own chair, Blaise went back outside to get Professor Spence. He was gone for a few minutes, but the two re-entered the room and claimed their places.

Ti was still sitting in the chair, looking at her knees and hiccoughing. She felt pathetic, crying in front of her head of house.

"If we let you go home for a few days, we'll obviously have to send you schoolwork..." Spence said, obviously defeated by the weeping adolescent before him.

Ti cracked a smile and nodded in appreciation towards him.

At least now avoiding Al would be easier.

* * *

That night, Ti sat at her desk at home, re-reading the words inked onto the parchment.

_Maya,_

_I'm at home. I'll explain everything soon, I just needed to get away. Sorry I couldn't tell you this in person. You're still my best friend, don't forget that!_

_~T xxx_

Half-smiling, she rolled it up and walked upstairs to her very own mini-owlery. They had a few owls. Blaise often needed to send letters while other owls were away, so they had six: Lemon, Wings, Dave, Bob, Indigo and Feathers. Ti selected Dave and tied the letter to his leg.

"It's for Maya. Make sure she gets it quickly," she smiled, stroking him a couple of times then stepping back as he spread his wings to set off for Hogwarts.

She watched the owl fade into the distance, then slowly walked downstairs to find her dad reading the paper on the sofa.

She walked over to him and sat beside him, snuggling up to him like she used to when she was younger when she was upset. Though, that was usually only from scraped knees. Heartbreak was so much worse.


	8. Chapter 8

**Well, well. This is so much fun, writing this! I have to say, I'm pleased with this, expecially considering I wrote it in a short period of time, and while enduring constant badgering from T to finish it. SO THERE.**

**Do review. I know you want to. Deeeeeeeeeeeep down. :D**

**M. Sunshine**

The sun was setting, making the chilly October evening seem warmer than it really was. Maya sat in the Common room, her Arithmancy book open in her lap but her mind miles away. When Ti had left her the previous evening, she'd blushed profusely, feeling James and his friends' eyes trained on her alone. Making some lame excuse about homework, she'd darted away from them and taken a seat at the Ravenclaw table, all alone. She hadn't minded really: after that, she was glad to just be left alone in her embarrassed misery. Now, the following night, she was sitting alone, curled up in an armchair. After being generally unsocial at dinner, she happily escaped to the cosy comfort of the Ravenclaw Common room. Her friends had stayed later at dinner, and were most likely sitting in the library now. Really, Maya should be with them, starting her recently assigned essay, but she couldn't bother. It didn't matter much though: she was a week ahead of everyone.

A few minutes past nine, the room started filling up, as the library had just closed (Ravenclaw tower tended to fill up as the students were all shooed out of the library), and Maya soon spotted Andrea, Emma and Sarah among the kids entering.

"Hey, there you are." Andrea said, leading the others up to her and sitting down on the couch opposite her friend. "We missed you." Maya shrugged.

"Yeah, had some stuff I needed to… think through."

"Aha…" Emma frowned.

"Did you start that essay?" Maya kept from snorting.

"No offense, Emma, but I have no need to start it tonight. Besides, I'm in no fit state to study at the moment."

"Oh come on." Sarah said, exasperated. "Can't you and Ti just make up already?"

"We have!"

"Then _what_ is the problem here?" Before Maya could spit out her annoyed retort, there was a loud tap on the window closest to them. They all spun around, and Maya quickly recognised one of Ti's owls, Dave. She frowned and walked over to open the window for him.

"Hey, Dave." she said, letting him step onto her arm. "What're you doing here, eh?" Spotting the letter tied to his leg, she hastily removed it and gingerly placed the regal looking owl on the arm of the sofa. Unrolling the parchment, she read through the four, short sentences, scribbled in Tielle's careless print. She smiled sadly, and fingered the ink for a moment before stuffing it in the pocket of her robe.

"What was that all about?" Emma enquired, stroking the owl.

"Just Ti being Ti." Maya replied breezily.

"Elaborate."

"Shan't." she said in a sing-song voice, and opened the window again to let the impatient bird fly back home. "I'm going to go for a stroll. See you later." She waved, and left her friends dumbstruck as she swept out of the room and into the chilly corridors. It was about twenty past nine, ten minutes until curfew. Being a Prefect, Maya knew when each part of the castle was being patrolled, and by whom. This made sneaking around a lot easier. _Ti would be so proud,_ she thought, amused. Her best mate didn't know about her knowing the castle like the back of her hand, and it was probably best that way. Maya knew she'd never get her to shut up, or stay in her Common room, if she found out. While walking, she tried to think of a reason for Ti's going home. That girl could take a lot, so something must've really rocked her boat if she was actually allowed home. Feeling a dull ache in her chest, Maya realised she already missed her exuberant friend, and she sighed deeply. _Hopefully she won't be too long…_ She kept strolling, her feet taking her automatically through secret passages and such. As she was walking through a hidden corridor, her eyes glued to the ground, she walked straight into someone. The collision sent her falling backwards, and she gasped as her back hit the stone floor.

"Oh, _shit_, I'm so sorry." Though she could not see him, Maya knew precisely who the voice belonged to, and she stiffened at it. "Are you okay?" Looking up, her brown eyes immediately met James'. His entire face bore a worried look, and he offered her his hand.

"Yeah…" she said, grabbing the extended hand. "I'm fine, it's okay." Standing, she brushed herself off, trying to force the blush from her heated cheeks.

"You sure? That was quite a fall." Maya felt confused. Normally, James seemed cocky and very self-confident. Now, however, he sounded anxious and gentle. _Why can't he just be _one_ person, and stop turning my world upside down!_

"I'm fine, seriously." she assured him, carefully pulling her hand out of his (it had sort of remained there after his helping her up). He smiled crookedly, and, to Maya's deep irritation, she blushed a deeper red and broke eye contact.

"So what is a Ravenclaw Prefect doing out and about fifteen minutes past curfew?" he asked, sounding amused.

"None of your business, Potter." she returned, though without malice or irritation. He was easy to talk to, even though she felt like her stomach might actually cause her to cartwheel soon. He snorted.

"Really, _Wood?_ Our dads played Quidditch together. Let's put this crap away and be pleasant, shall we?" She almost giggled. _Almost_. YES, ALMOST.

"Fine." He stuck out his hand again, and she shook it resolutely.

"Come on, let's continue our wanderings together." She rolled her eyes, but thought she might as well, and followed him.

"So how is it you can wander however you like?" he asked as they came out into a wider corridor. She shrugged.

"Experience." she answered. "And the fact that I am a Prefect. It has benefits, you know." He chuckled.

"Yes, I suppose it does. Though Al is all protective of the secrets. Says it's his 'duty to the school' not to tell." He rolled his eyes, and Maya allowed herself to laugh.

"How about you?" she enquired, genuinely interested as to how this boy managed to get around the castle undetected. He seemed to contemplate something for a moment before pulling a piece of old parchment out of the pocket in his sweatshirt. "Er, great." she said, staring sceptically at the yellow square.

"Actually, it's bloody brilliant." She raised her eyebrows. James took his wand out and tapped the parchment lightly. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." Instantly, inked words appeared on the front.

"The Marauders' Map?" she read, frowning at him. "What are the Marauders?"

"Never mind that." he dismissed, unfolding it. "Take a look." She inched closer, her heart hammering inside her chest at being so close to him (he smelled faintly of shampoo, she noticed), but focused on the object opened in his hands. Staring in disbelief, she realised it was a map of Hogwarts. And not only that: it had dots wandering around, labelled with a name.

"Does this…?"

"Yup." he nodded. "Shows where everyone is, all the time." Her mouth actually opened in astonishment.

"That's… that's some advanced magic." was all she could manage, mentally berating herself for merely commenting on the level of magic, not on the wonder of the possibilities. _Ti is way better at these things_, she thought, a bit miserably.

"A bit." he said with a grimace. "It's brilliant though. Allows me to walk around without meeting anyone, should I want to."

"Then how come you walked into me? Surely you must have seen me coming?"

"I… I didn't have it opened." She raised her eyebrows, finding a little confidence somewhere in her cloudy mind.

"And why might this be?" He scratched the back of his neck.

"Dunno…" She frowned at him, but decided she'd leave the subject. At least for the time being.

"I see. Why are you out and about anyway?" He shrugged.

"Just fancied a walk. Get away from stuff, you know."

"Yeah, I know the feeling." she nodded. James nodded ahead of them.

"Left or right?" Once again, Maya's heart seemed to hammer just a bit harder at his continued interest in walking with her.

"Doesn't matter. Left?" she said, and at his agreeing they started through the corridor. "What's up with Ti and Al then?" she said, just to get a conversation going. Merlin _I'm lame, talking about his _brother, she chastised herself. James snorted, and thankfully seemed amused.

"Haven't the foggiest. It was so obvious, for ages, that he was dating someone. I have to say, I was kind of surprised when it turned out to be _Zabini_." Maya pursed her lips.

"I'd prefer it if you refrained from insulting my friends, _Potter_." she said pointedly, giving him a sideway glance.

"Ah. Right. She's your best mate, right?"

"Something along those lines."

"Sorry about that." he added, and gave her a truly apologetic look. "I slip up sometimes. Not used to being with people from other Houses." She raised her eyebrows at him as they rounded another corner, and pressed against the wall as Professor Hayes sauntered past.

"Really?" she asked in a hushed voice, taking care to not let her Head of House hear her.

"Well, yes. All my friends are Gryffindors."

"And you don't speak to kids from Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw or Slytherin?"

"Most definitely not Slytherin." he put in.

"You are so unbelievably prejudiced." she exclaimed. "You spoke to Ti before. She's in Slytherin, and she is awesome."

"I don't doubt it. It's just, you know…"

"Honestly, with your parents I thought you'd have a bit more maturity than that." she said, feeling a bit disappointed in this boy she barely even knew.

"Come on, Maya…" Her heart warmed when he spoke her name, but she forced the pleasant feeling away, focusing on the annoyance.

"Seriously, James. They're not bad people. They just have… a different disposition, that's all."

"Don't pretend you like them all."

"I never claimed I did. But you could be a bit more open to these things." she said determinedly. "I need to go." She'd just looked at her watch, and was getting edgy as it was just about ten o'clock. She wanted to get back to the tower and try to outline her essay before she went to bed. "Listen, I need to get going. It was nice talking to you!" She gave a wave and hurried off, feeling his eyes on her back. _Ignore it…_ She clenched her hands, and rushed on.

**M&T**

Breakfast the next morning was a pleasant affair. Maya was pretty much herself to her friends, but she kept her eyes well away from the Gryffindor table, not wanting to accidentally spot one particular seventh year.

"What's first on our schedule again?" Emma asked, spreading honey on a piece of toast.

"Herbology." Maya and Andrea replied together, grimacing at one another at it. Sarah rolled her eyes but didn't look up from the newspaper she was reading.

"Great." she snorted. "Plants."

"Since when are you such a sceptic?" Maya asked, raising her eyebrows at her ginger friend.

"Oh come _on_, Maya, not even you can say that this subject is even remotely interesting." The brunette pursed her lips.

"Well…"

"You hesitated." 

"You interrupted me!"

"I did _not_."

"But you did."

"That would have been rude."

"Yet you did."

"I'm not rude."

"GUYS!" They spun around, facing an irate looking Sarah. "Would you pipe down, for, like, two seconds?" Smirking, Maya twirled her wand, transfiguring the Daily Prophet into a purple, stuffed elephant.

"Cute." Andrea remarked, a crooked smile on her lips.

"Very funny." Sarah grumbled before getting up and storming out of the Hall, leaving the elephant.

"So sweet!" Emma gushed, picking it up and checking the toy out. "Nice work here." She said, aiming the comment at Maya.

"Thanks. I do my best."

"Well, I'm keeping it."

"You do realise that's really a newspaper."

"So? No reason he can't stay."

"Oh, it's a he now, is it?" She nodded, placing the toy carefully in her satchel.

"Yes, and his name is Churchill." Maya coughed on her tea.

"Churchill?"

"The very same."

"Why on Earth would you name an elephant after an old politician?" She sighed heavily, as if it was the stupidest question one could think to ask.

"_Because_," she said in a rather superior tone of voice, "he is awesome."

"Emma, that's hardly a very good answer." Maya retorted. "You'll lose your straight O's if you keep this up." Offended (bur most likely only pretending to be), Emma got up, and with her nose in the air she left the Great Hall. Quite gracefully, Maya noted.

"Interesting morning." she said thoughtfully. Andrea just shook her head, completely perplexed by the entire situation. Maya smiled, and beckoned for her to follow to the Greenhouses for their first class.

**M&T**

When the Ravenclaw girls were sitting down for lunch, Maya sighed heavily. Some classes were truly boring when there was no Ti there to tell off. Her friend usually didn't pay attention, and Maya had to copy her notes for her, or nudge her out of her nap. She always pretended to be really annoyed with Tielle about it, but the truth was, she rather enjoyed it. All her other friends did just as well as her, and didn't need her help. For some reason, she liked the idea of someone needing her. Not that Maya liked cheating, but this wasn't the same thing.

"… and I put that at the end." Andrea was saying, pointing at a paragraph in her essay. Emma nodded, eating a bit, but seemed interested.

"I thought of doing that. But I thought it'd fit better together with the theory of how to alter something living." she said. Transfiguration, then. Maya didn't pay much attention. She'd finished that essay, and didn't want to hear their corrections. It was done, and she didn't want to start feeling uncertain and changing stuff. That usually didn't end well. So she sipped her pumpkin juice, glancing fleetingly at the Daily Prophet. Seeing nothing of interest, she sighed and finished off the last of her meal.

"I just want to run off to the library for a mo." she said, getting up and hoisting her packed bag over her shoulder.

"Sure." Emma said absentmindedly, reading her essay, comparing it to Andrea's. Sarah rolled her eyes at them.

"See you later." Maya grinned, walking out. There weren't a lot of people about, as most were still having lunch, so Maya had an easy time getting to the library. She hadn't exactly been clear about what she was going to do. In fact, her visit to the book-filled room was anything but academic. Harmless, yes. She just wanted to be alone, partly to have the time to write Ti a letter, and partly to think about the previous night's events. Sitting down at a small, empty table, she pulled out a piece of parchment, a quill and ink to start writing.

_Ti!_

_I'm sorry I didn't reply sooner. Had stuff on my mind. _

_I have to say, you leaving surprised me. I hope you're all right, and please be in touch soon about what's up. I miss you; classes are dull when you're gone…_

Maya chewed her quill, not knowing really how to continue, letting the tip of the feather hover above the parchment for a moment before she kept on writing.

_Actually, I had quite the conversation with a certain Mr Potter yesterday. I'll tell you all about it once you get back._

_I should get back to the others now; I have class in a bit._

_Miss you!_

_Maya, xxx_

She read it through. Short, but that was fine. She expected Ti to be back soon, after all. Drying the ink with a quick spell, she rolled it up and sealed it. Putting it aside, she got out her Charms book, just to make it look as if she was working. Once it was open and she was staring at the page, she allowed her mind to drift.

She'd had a crush on James for years. There was something about his handsome features, messy hair and lively brown eyes that made him completely irresistible, at least in Maya's opinion. Of course, she'd brushed it aside to begin with; as she was rather embarrassed tot think she'd fall for someone simply because of his looks and his skill on a broom, obviously inherited from his gifted father. That was another thing that scared her a bit: James' entire family was immensely famous, not to mention wealthy, and being a modest Ravenclaw, the last thing she wanted was to be thought of as a gold digger. As the years had passed, and she'd watched his girlfriends come and go, she'd realised just how deeply rooted her affection for him was. She couldn't stop looking at him, and blushed every time he caught her doing so. The thought of all the pretty young witched he'd rejected made her nervous. Maya wasn't particularly confident about how she looked, and as James looked heavenly to her, she doubted he'd even look her way.

But he had. A few times she'd looked up to glance at him, and their eyes had met. Naturally, she was far too insecure to even consider that he might have similar feelings, and would immediately close up and run away. But the conversation they'd shared the previous night made her think. That map was brilliant, and being out after curfew, it was hardly likely that he'd close the map. So how could he have missed her approaching? He must've known. But then, how could he allow her to run into him?

Maya clutched her head, getting thoroughly confused by all of this. She desperately wanted to think about it, try and sort things out. Not understanding things frustrated her to no end, and not being able to wrap her head around this made her want to scream.

"Are you okay?" Maya almost knocked her ink off the table as she jerked around, only to meet the curious and concerned green eyes of Albus Potter. It seemed the entire Potter clan was set out to ask her this particular question. She shook her head slightly.

"Yes, I'm fine." He smiled softly.

"You seem a bit agitated." She snorted, moving her ink and quill out of harm's way.

"Yes, well…" Without an invitation, he sat down beside her, leaning his elbows in the wooden table top.

"I was looking for you, actually." She raised her eyebrows at him, closing her book with a thud.

"And why is that?" was her reply.

"I was just wondering if you know where Ti is…"

"You don't… Is everything okay between you?" Maya hardly knew Al Potter, but he seemed nice, and as Ti was dating him she was convinced he must be all right. She would at least give him a chance.

"Yes. Or no. I don't know."

"Do elaborate." Another Potter sibling who's easy to talk to, she observed.

"We had a bit of a fight. I'm afraid I overreacted a bit. But I need to speak to her, and I haven't seen her for a while." Maya nodded thoughtfully, wondering if she should tell him about her going home. Why not, she decided.

"She went home for a bit, actually."

"Home?" Maya nodded. "How come?"

"That I don't know." she answered honestly. "I got an owl from her before, only saying she'd be away for a few days and that she'd explain once she got back."

"And she… She said nothing about me?" Maya shook her head.

"I haven't seen her for a while." she added, in an attempt to make him feel better. All she got for a reply was a small nod.

"I'll let you get on then." he said in a low voice, and hurriedly left the room. Maya sighed. What on Earth was up with the world?

**M&T**

The last classes of the days passed in a sort of trance for Maya. She answered a few questions, earned Ravenclaw a few points and tried to be civil to her friends. All in all, it hadn't been a very eventful or pleasant day. After dinner, she followed Emma, Andrea and Sarah to the library, but sat by herself, reading a novel. She was in no mood for schoolwork, and knew she'd just do a poor job if she even tried in this state of mind. The absence of her best friend made her jittery and short-tempered, and she felt sort of bad for being totally unsocial to her other friends. Out of the corner of her eye she could see some fourth year Gryffindor walking up to Emma, asking her something in a low voice. Her ginger friend's eyebrows shot up, and she looked over at Maya, who gave her a questioning look. Emma spoke for a few moments with the bratty-looking girl, before pushing her off and hurrying over to Maya's side.

"What was that all about?"

"You haven't heard?" Maya snorted.

"No, and neither had you until just now." she pointed out. Emma waved her hand dismissively.

"Do you want to hear it or not?"

"The latest Hogwarts gossip, hold me back." Maya said sarcastically.

"It concerns Tielle." Maya stiffened. Okay, interested.

"Okay, ignore my comments. Shoot." Emma smirked. "Oh drop that face and just tell me already!"

"Suddenly very eager."

"_Emma…_" she growled menacingly.

"Well, there's this rumour going-"

"There are always rumours about Ti." Maya interrupted.

"Oh, nothing _like_ this." she said confidently.

"Okay…" Emma stared at her.

"They say Ti's pregnant." This time, Maya did knock her things on the floor as she stood up, outraged.

"What?"

"That's not the best part." Emma continued, her eyes clouded. "They say Malfoy's the father."


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

'_Dear Al,'_

These words had been etched into the parchment for a good half an hour now, and Ti was still pulling a blank. What was there to write? Nothing. That's what there was. Nothing.

She ripped the top off of the parchment and screwed it up, throwing it over to her bin, and leaving it lying in its position on the floor next to it along with all the other identical scrunched up pieces with the exact same two words on them.

She'd been lounging around the house in jogging bottoms and overly-sized jackets since she returned home, and she was refusing to take off one of Al's Gryffindor scarves he'd lent her ages ago, much to her father's dismay. She couldn't help it – It smelt just like him.

She trudged down the stairs and walked towards her father's office. It got awfully lonely when only two people lived in a house as big as theirs, and it sometimes got overwhelming for a girl Ti's age.

She didn't say anything as she walked in. She just sat on the beanbag in the corner that she'd practically forced her dad to keep in there for when she didn't want to be alone, and pulled her legs up against her chest, wrapping her arms around them comfortably.

Blaise looked around and gave her a confused look. Ti couldn't blame him – She'd been refusing to tell him or anybody anything about what had happened, and it was getting to him.

She gave him a sad smile in greeting and he put down his quill. "What can I do? Please let me help..." he said almost desperately, turning his chair around to look at her better. It was pretty obvious that having a daughter had bought out the best in Blaise. Though still a Slytherin at heart, there was practically nothing he wouldn't do for her.

"I'm fine," she summed up, giving him a weak smile and standing back up. "Just tired. I think I'll go and take a nap." She kissed her father on the cheek, gave him an affectionate hug and left for her bedroom.

Literally as soon as she'd put a foot through the door, there was a tap at the window, and Ti, who had had her sight set on her feet, looked up and smiled when she saw Dave with a companion who appeared to be a school owl. She pushed the window up to open it and helped the sweet little owls inside and took the letter off the school owl's leg.

"You were nice and quick," she smiled, running the back of her finger down Dave's back a couple of times, making him give a small hoot.

She opened the letter and felt her heart leap from her chest at Al's last name. Obviously it was the older Potter Maya was referring to, and not Al. Either way, she was happy that the two were finally speaking like normal people. It was almost _too_ obvious that they liked each other.

She gave a small smile and stroked both owls for a final time (she'd been doing so as she read the letter) and pointed towards her bedroom door. "You know where you live," she said to Dave, holding him up on her finger and watching him fly out of her bedroom door towards their owlery. They always kept the door open, so they had a nice strong draft excluder to keep the house at a normal temperature when it was windy. "You can stay here until you're ready to fly back," she told the other owl, pointing in the direction in which Dave had just departed.

She took a seat at her desk and, using the parchment meant for Albus, started writing a reply to Maya.

_Maya,_

_Sorry about the random departure. I'll be back Sunday afternoon, so you don't have to wait too long. But I have a small favour to ask you._

Ti paused, chewing the end of her quill for a second, pondering how to ask without giving anything away.

_Please could you see how Al is without him getting suspicious or knowing I asked? We're not really speaking at the moment..._

_Well done with James, though! Conversation is a bit of a let-down on the news-front, but you have to start somewhere! You can tell all at dinner on Sunday._

_See you then, I miss you too!_

_Tielle, xxx_

Ti decided that that was all right for a few days. She went up to their little owlery, tied the letter to Wings' leg and watched as he flew off.

All she had to do now was some work the professors had set her. _Joyous occasions_.

**WOAS**

The rumour that Tielle was pregnant had spread around the school quickly; it was Hogwarts after all. Adapting on that, the students quickly found out that Ti and Al's relationship had ended as quickly as it had started, which didn't look good with the situation at all.

Unfortunately, Al had heard the rumour and, though he now believed Ti never cheated on him, doubted her a little bit. Not as much as everybody else did, but still.

So, when Ti got back to school on Sunday afternoon as promised, she was a little surprised at the whispering and dodgy looks. This wasn't the first time she'd been gossiped about, obviously, she was just very aware that this time seemed bigger... Like something _massive_ had happened that she was involved in. She just put it down to the whole shock with a Gryffindor and Slytherin dating.

After looking quickly up the Gryffindor table and not seeing Albus, (which was good for her because she'd been completely dreading seeing him) Ti found Maya on the Ravenclaw table and smiled to herself, thankful to see the girl after such a long time. Greeting her by flinging her arms around Maya's neck, she laughed a little as the younger of the two looked around to see who it was before hugging back with a grin and sat beside her. "I've missed you!" Ti told her enthusiastically.

"I've missed you too," Maya replied with a smile, stopping what she was doing as Tielle took a seat next to her.

"So, what's the latest on Tielle?" Ti asked, referring to herself in third-person for the sake of it. She just wanted to know what people were saying about her. Seriously, people needed to stop gossiping and just get a life.

Maya looked at her plate and shrugged a little, making Ti feel a little unnerved. Whatever it was seemed to be making her shy all of a sudden. What was so bad that her best friend couldn't even tell her?

"Maya, what is it?" she tried again, a little scared about the answer.

"I think we should go somewhere private for this," Maya replied quietly, quickly looking around the Great Hall and then getting up from her spot and dragging Ti by her hand to classroom eleven. The whole way there they were followed by whispering and pointing... It was actually like being famous. You build a reputation at school and suddenly everybody knows everything about you.

After they'd perched themselves against opposite trees, Maya sighed a little. "You're not going to like this," she said honestly.

"Try me," Ti challenged. How bad could it be?

"According to half the school, you're pregnant with Malfoy's kid," she said bluntly, leaving Ti to sit there blinking in a shocked silence. Apparently it was worse news than she'd been expecting because, at that point, Ti stood up and fiercely kicked a poor innocent tree trunk as though this violent attack would make it all go away. Why were people so stupid? She was a virgin for Merlin's sake!

Judging by the pain now shooting through her, kicking the tree hadn't been such a good idea. After cussing at it for a few seconds in language so strong she was a little surprised at herself, she slid back to the floor and huffed, giving Maya a quick apologetic glance for the use of colourful words. "Funny that. Didn't know virgins could get pregnant," she commented after she'd had time to cool off.

Maya, who knew just to just leave Ti alone while she was angry, finally spoke again. "You have no idea how relieved I am to hear that," she said, smiling a little. "Just give it time, the rumour will go away."

"Yeah, in a few months when it's pretty obvious there's not a baby growing in my fucking uterus."

Maya snorted a little. Ti was just so typical, sometimes. Even when she was in a position like this she still managed to be her usual self.

"Anyway, I'm going to go to my dorm and sort some stuff out there," Ti said eventually, helping Maya up from the ground and hugging her quickly before heading for the door. "I'll see you tomorrow!" she added as she shut the door behind her.

**WOAS**

That evening at around eleven when she was lying in bed attempting to get an early night's sleep ready for lessons in the morning, Ti realised that she hadn't eaten dinner earlier. There was absolutely no way she was going to be able to sleep now she was thinking about food, so she quietly got out of bed and headed out of her dorm and through the common room. Luckily, having their common room in the dungeons only made it easier for the Slytherins who knew how the kitchen could be accessed to get there.

Tickling the pear, Ti watched as it turned into a handle and smiled before opening the door. She automatically made herself comfy on a counter and ordered a peanut butter and jam sandwich and a glass of water from one of the willing house elves that was still awake and working.

This was her routine when she was hungry and couldn't sleep. It actually happened more than anybody would think. Ti _loved_ food. Possibly more than life itself. She didn't care that she was a fussy eater or what the consequences of unhealthy food were; she didn't even care that she wasn't as thin as everybody else. She was herself and herself liked food. A lot.

Once she'd eaten her sandwich and had drunk half of her water, she saw the door of the kitchen open and inwardly started cussing. If that was a professor, she'd be in trouble for sure, and she'd been back for no less than six hours. Luckily it wasn't a professor. Unluckily, it was Albus.

Ti caught his gaze for a second before looking away and drinking the rest of her water.

"Hey," he said quietly, almost awkwardly.

"Hi," she replied, wondering why this had to happen to her, now of all times.

The awkward silence was a little unnerving.

"Look, Ti, I'm sorry I jumped to conclusions about you and Malfoy. I never should have believed him over you." He moved closer to her, but she stopped him.

"I actually wanted to thank you for that." _Wait, Ti, where are you going with this?_ "I'm glad you came to your senses about that because I was telling the truth, but... You believed Malfoy because you don't fully trust me. I don't really mind, I can understand that, I just don't want to continue with anything until I'm sure you can actually trust me."

Albus looked like he'd been slapped with a fish. "Wha..." he started but Ti cut him off.

"It's probably best if we pause this for a while, y'know?"

Now he was just staring at her. Awkward. "I do trust you, Ti."

"I know you don't, and I'm fine with that. You have a good reason not to. Just tell me if you don't think you ever can. I don't fancy the thought of waiting around for a guy. That's everything I'm against." She nodded to him in a way of saying goodbye and left quickly before anything else could go wrong.

"Ti!"

Oh, crap. Why was it so easy to follow people in this stupid place? "Yeah?" she said, turning around. There wasn't any point in ignoring him, now, was there?

"I trust you. I swear, I do."

"Whether I believe you or not, I just think we should give each other some space while the whole pregnancy thing settles down." She knew he'd have heard that rumour before now and there was no point in pretending he hadn't. "The only chance of me being pregnant right this second is if I'm the Virgin Mary."

Al smiled a little. "We can be friends during this confusion, right?"

"Of course we can! I love freaking out people in my house by talking to Gryffindors." She winked at him and pointed towards the stairs which she had to climb to get to the Entrance Hall. "I'd better go before I get caught out of bed again."

"Sure," he nodded. "See you tomorrow?"

"You shall." And with that she gave a small wave and went up the stairs at a leisurely pace, not caring that he was watching her. She could be friend with him while everything was being sorted out, couldn't she? Of course she could. Waiting was okay, and they'd be exactly how they were when they were going out... minus the lovey stuff.

Ti got back to her dorm and didn't manage to drift of to sleep for at least two hours. How was she meant to sleep when she was having doubts that she and Albus could function as friends?

They could function as enemies and they could function as boyfriend and girlfriend, but there was a part of her that knew they could never go back to how they were right before they started going out, and it was actually a little upsetting.

Life isn't a fairytale. Not everybody gets a happy ending.

And that was exactly the pessimistic attitude that was sure to destroy what they had left.

* * *

_A/N - Reviews? :3_

_~Tielle_


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